This week, Rongsheng Petrochemical's industrial-grade acetonitrile auction price settled at 10,000 yuan/ton, down 500 yuan/ton from last week. By the weekend, local transaction prices in the Shandong market had dropped to 9,200 yuan/ton. After a period of stabilization and consolidation last week, the decline has notably accelerated this week. Weak demand is the primary factor driving the continued downward trend in the acetonitrile market, with insufficient consumption from traditional industries such as pesticides. Meanwhile, although demand in the high-purity sector remains relatively steady, intensified competition in that field has compressed profit margins, further dragging down industrial-grade acetonitrile prices.
High operating rates at synthetic method plants lead to ample overall supply
In the earlier period, although industrial-grade acetonitrile prices continued to decline, the pace of decline had been relatively slow since mid-April. This was mainly due to generally low operating rates at by-product method plants, which remained mostly below 70%, particularly at major eastern China plants such as Zhejiang Petrochemical, Sierbang, and Shanghai SECCO, which maintained low loads, resulting in persistently tight by-product resources in the region. However, during this period, operating rates at synthetic method plants increased significantly to 70-80%, boosting supply and weakening the support from reduced by-product output. As a result, the overall market remained in a gradual decline, but localized supply tightness slowed the pace of the downturn.
竞价销售 of preparation-grade acetonitrile highlights cost advantages of integrated synthetic method enterprises
Although the industrial-grade acetonitrile market experienced a moderated decline due to regional supply-demand differentiation, the preparation-grade acetonitrile market has also seen increasing competition due to differences in raw material costs. Currently, domestic preparation-grade acetonitrile producers can be divided into two categories based on raw material sourcing: those that purchase externally, represented by companies like Tianyu Pharmaceutical, which mainly buy by-product acetonitrile, and those with self-supply, primarily synthetic method plants with integrated high-purity production units. Both categories primarily supply preparation-grade acetonitrile to pharmaceutical companies, especially those producing peptides.
Due to different raw material sources, production costs vary significantly. Currently, because the main raw materials for the synthetic method—acetic acid and liquid ammonia—are relatively cheap, the production cost of industrial-grade acetonitrile via the synthetic method is only around 8,000 yuan/ton. In contrast, the price of externally purchased by-product acetonitrile has recently remained near the 10,000 yuan/ton level. This cost disparity has led to a gradual divergence in preparation-grade acetonitrile prices amid intensifying competition. It is understood that synthetic method enterprises, leveraging their cost advantage, have been cutting prices to promote sales of preparation-grade acetonitrile, while external procurement enterprises, facing shrinking profit margins, have reduced their purchasing enthusiasm for by-product acetonitrile, thereby dragging down overall industrial-grade acetonitrile prices.
Outlook
Currently, consumption from traditional downstream sectors such as pesticides for industrial-grade acetonitrile has already weakened. Additionally, the recent price decline in the high-purity acetonitrile market due to intensified competition suggests that industrial-grade acetonitrile prices are expected to continue their downward trend in the short term. However, supply of by-product acetonitrile is still expected to shrink due to losses in acrylonitrile production. In the coming period, major plants in eastern China may further reduce output. Meanwhile, the price of acetic acid, a key raw material for the synthetic method, has recently rebounded. Therefore, supply and cost factors will still provide periodic support, which will to some extent underpin the bottom of industrial-grade acetonitrile prices. It is anticipated that industrial-grade acetonitrile prices will accelerate their decline in the short term and may approach a bottom.
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