SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Production of titanium
dioxide (TiO2) plants in China continues to be
limited by
supply chain disruptions caused by the
coronavirus outbreak.
Tighter supply has prompted TiO2 producers to
hike prices for the material in both the
domestic and export markets.
Chinese TiO2 export prices were last assessed
at $2,100-2,200/tonne FOB (free on board) China
on 21 February, according to ICIS data.
The Chinese government has eased restrictions
on logistics and movement of people, so that
workers are able to return to their jobs after
an extended Lunar New Year holiday (24 January
to 2 February).
However, infections in the work place were
recorded, including at a major TiO2
manufacturing unit in the country.
Pangang Group has shut its TiO2 production unit
in Chongqing’s Banan district, when it was
found that members of staff were infected with
the coronavirus, according to a local
government official.
With two confirmed cases of infection at its
Chongqing premises, the company placed all its
employees at the site under quarantine.
Meanwhile, some TiO2 producers are facing
difficulty securing feedstock ilmenite, whose
cost was estimated to have surged by Chinese
yuan (CNY) 400/tonne ($57/tonne), due to
logistical constraints.
Export trade was
likewise hampered, with some in-land producers
struggling to arrange transport for their TiO2
cargoes to coastal ports, to be shipped out.
Buyers in southeast Asia, which were in urgent
need of cargoes, were pressing for
late-February shipment dates but a few Chinese
suppliers were willing to provide delivery
guarantees.
Some were bracing themselves for potential
delays for any TiO2 Chinese exports.
Focus article by Leanne Tan
($1 = CNY7.03)
Photo: A worker at Hefei Port wears a mask.
The port in China’s Anhui Province resumed
operation with strict measures to prevent and
control the novel coronavirus epidemic.
(Source: Xinhua/Shutterstock)
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