Key words of the passage: cyhalofop-butyl; raw material; trends; price

Some industry professionals predict the price of cyhalofop-butyl technical may rise after the Spring Festival and a price drop is impossible unless prices of key upstream intermediates collapse, currently a very low probability. Because of the short supply of DHPPA, Heze Jinchen has been forced to stop production its till March; Jinzhou Sihai is still producing at full capaxity for supply but only for large purchase orders; Jiangxi Tianshu is not producing regularly; and Huimeng needs more time to release its newly increased capacity. Most cyhalofop-butyl technical manufacturers are waiting for DHPPA, but there are no current signs of an improvement to the situation.

In addition, DHPPA’s upstream key material, hydroquinone, does not show signs of improvement in terms of short supply, with the mainstream price being at Yuan75,000 per ton, which is slightly lower than the record high price of Yuan80,000 per ton but matches DHPPA’s previous market price. At present, DHPPA price rose to Yuan165,000 yuan per ton, with its highest price once reaching Yuan180,000 per ton.

As well as DHPPA, the price of another key intermediate, 3,4-Difluorobenzonitrile, has stayed relatively stable at Yuan145,000 per ton. In addition, bromobutane price has been stable, staying at Yuan50,000-55,000 per ton. The cost of the materials of mainstream manufacturers, Zhongxun, Yongkai, Flagchem and Weixun, are between Yuan170,000 to 180,000 per ton. Based on current market prices of Yuan200,000-225,000 per ton, the product does not give distributors much profit margin. Although a news report suggested a new capacity of 3,000 tons for 3,4-difluorobenzonitrile will be brought on stream, this is not a key factor that can influence the cyhalofop-butyl market.

In light of current raw material prices, the procurement cost of manufacturers rose significantly, which also imposes considerable financial pressure on them. The purchase of 200 tons of DHPPA now costs Yuan33 million, which is Yuan15 million more than the procurement funding in 2020. This part of the financing cost is not yet being calculated and included in the cost of production.

The current situation is that high prices at the upstream of the industry cannot be reduced while prices at the downstream of the industry cannot be increased. In the meantime, the paddy rice planting season is imminent in April, so not much time is available to distributors.

Source: AgroNews