Gansu glufosinate intermediate put into production; China’s power shortage eased; Yellow phosphorus price plummeted

Recently, Gansu Binnong Technology’s annual 22,000-ton pesticide and intermediate project became successfully operational at the first attempt and is running steadily, making Binnong the world’s fourth 10,000-ton manufacturer after BASF, UPL and Lier Mianyang. 

According to the environmental impact assessment previously issued by the Lanzhou New Area Bureau of Ecology and Environment, the annual 22,000-ton pesticide and intermediate project involves the annual production of 9,000-ton methyldiethoxyphosphine, 10,000-ton glufosinate and 3,000-ton bentazone. The project was completed over two phases, with Phase I focusing on 9,000-ton methyldiethoxyphosphine and 5,000-ton glufosinate with supporting facilities, while Phase II focused on 5,000-ton glufosinate and 3,000-ton bentazone with supporting facilities. 

Currently, China's chemical production is facing policy and market turbulence. China’s power shortage has eased a little and yellow phosphorus plummeted , how the agrochemicals market going? 

China’s daily output of coal is 12.05 million tons, a record high and the power shortage has eased

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, on November 10, the daily output of coal dispatch reached 12.05 million tons, a record high, an increase of 120,000 tons from the previous peak. Among them, coal production in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Xinjiang and other provinces all hit recent years. The new high will lay a firmer foundation for the national energy supply and price stabilization work. On November 10, coal supply from power plants nationwide once again exceeded 8 million tons, reaching 8.143 million tons; coal supply exceeded coal consumption by more than 2 million tons, reaching 2.043 million tons; coal storage in power plants reached 123 million tons, and the available days exceeded 21 days. On November 11, the major northern ports stored coal at 24 million tons, an increase of more than 4 million tons from the beginning of the month; among them, Qinhuangdao Port stored coal at 5.65 million tons, an increase of 600,000 tons from the beginning of the month.

Yellow phosphorus, phosphoric acid and other chemical products plummeted

As of November 10, the price of yellow phosphorus was about 33,000 yuan/ton, and the transaction price was 27,000-28,000 yuan, which was a 21% drop from about 42,000 yuan/ton on October 27 and about 65,000 from the high point at the end of September. Yuan/ton plunged 96%; it showed a slight rebound in the past two days. In addition, the price of phosphoric acid has fallen below 12,000 yuan/ton, a drop of over 42% from the high of 21,000 yuan/ton at the end of September. 

Glycine prices remain high position until 2022

Contrary to the above two raw materials, the price of glycine is still strong. The latest factory quotation is 35,000 yuan/ton, which was around 25,000 yuan before the price increase in August, going back to the beginning of this year, glycine price is 10,000yuan/ton. Hebei Donghua Chemical (100,000 tons/year), China's largest glycine plant, said that from January 1st to February 15th, 2022, due to the impact of the Winter Olympics, the plant will most likely face production suspension.

The prices of bulk raw materials are falling, and the procurement strategy for pesticides should be formulated in accordance with the actual needs in the short and medium term.

Welcome to contact the author: 

Erwin Xue
erwin@agropages.com 
+86 137 50884233