Locally held PP film supplies tight in Egypt

06-Apr-15

PP players have been reporting tight PP supplies in the local market of Egypt, while they highlight the fact that PP film supplies have been the shortest, as per ChemOrbis. Domestic producer EPPC’s raffia prices have been absent since March as the producer faces delivery delays. In March, a source from the company had revealed that they had not announced any March prices as they were still trying to deliver their February cargoes, which had been hindered due to some documentation related bureaucratic issues. Last week, a source from the producer revealed overcoming the obstacles faced and possibility of offering PP for April. “However, our April presence will depend on our availability because we do not hold much stock,” he further added. Apart from EPPC’s absence, Middle Eastern PP prices were announced higher for April, on the back of the limited availability from the region, adding to the tightness. Although the Egyptian pound has recently stabilized, Egyptian players had been struggling with the constantly increasing US dollar parity which was exacerbated by the Central Bank’s attempt to curb black market trading of the currency. They were also facing difficulties when trying to open letters of credit at banks. Such factors, combined together, restricted import purchases and players mostly turned to the local market to meet their needs. As a result, local supplies started to dwindle and prices of the locally held cargoes moved up. In the distribution market, the most recent locally held raffia and injection offers signaled EGP1000-1900/ton ($131-249/ton) hikes when compared to end February levels as per ChemOrbis pricing service. However, locally held PP film prices indicate EGP1900-2000/ton (US$249-262/ton) hikes over the same period. Currently PP film carries a very large premium over the locally held raffia and injection offers at EGP1900-1200/ton (US$249-262/ton).