Vietnamese players report strong demand amid limited avails for LLDPE

08-May-14

Vietnamese players report strong demand amid limited avails for LLDPE Players in Vietnam are reporting strong demand and limited availability for LLDPE, as per ChemOrbis. A trader reported that a major Middle Eastern producer had oversold April LLDPE allocations and consequently had limited supplies to offer for May while other traders reported selling at increased prices owing to healthy demand in the country. According to data from ChemOrbis Price Index, import LLDPE film prices on a CFR Vietnam basis have risen US$56/ton since hitting a year-to-date low towards the end of March. Much of this increase has occurred over the last two weeks, during which time prices rose US$39/ton. A trader based in Thailand said, “Demand for LLDPE is doing very well in Vietnam. We are not planning to give any discounts on our offers for Thai material as our supplier is not carrying high stocks due to their ongoing maintenance.” A converter in the packaging sector claimed that they are covered till June, stating, “Demand for our end business is quite encouraging, but we are not planning to buy new material as we made a big purchase last month and we find the current LLDPE prices to be quite high due to short supply for this product.” In addition, a Vietnamese trader reported concluding a deal for 1,500 tons of LLDPE film from a Middle Eastern producer. He said, “We hear that most traders could not receive more than 1,000 tons of LLDPE from the supplier as the producer had oversold their LLDPE quotas last month and their availability is now limited as they are busy fulfilling last month’s orders. LLDPE demand is quite good in Vietnam, but we think that prices have only a limited amount of room for further increases as upcoming deliveries will help ease supply pressures towards the end of the month.” Another trader who is offering LLDPE to the local market said, “Distributors are carrying low stock levels for LLDPE. We also have a small amount of cargoes, which we mostly sell to our regular customers.” According to ChemOrbis, meanwhile, a source from a major Middle Eastern producer stated, “Demand for LLDPE is better when compared to other polymers. Our LLDPE sales have climbed by around 10% year over year.”