Japan chemical exports rise 15.7% in March

Japan's chemical exports rose by 15.7% year on year to yen (Y) 1,028bn in March, supporting the overall growth in shipments abroad, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement.

The country's exports of organic chemicals rose by 14.6% year on year to Y192.2bn in March while shipments of plastic materials were up by 11.6% at Y291.8bn.

On a volume basis, exports of plastic materials fell by 6.6% year on year to 551,455 tonnes in March.

Japan's overall exports rose by 14.7% year on year to Y8,461bn in March while imports were up by 31.2% at Y8,873bn, resulting in a trade deficit of around Y412bn.

We remind, Japan's chemical exports rose by 19.8% year on year in February to Yen (Y) 913.4bn, supporting the overall increase in shipments abroad. Exports of organic chemicals rose by 32.3% year on year to Y179.7bn in February while shipments of plastic materials were up by 17.4% at Y254.7bn, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
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Wanhua Chemical, a major petrochemical producer in China, says it will spend USD3.6 billion to build a chemical complex in Penglai, China, by 2024, according to C&EN.

The project’s centerpiece will be a propane dehydrogenation plant (PDH) with 900,000 metric tons per year of capacity.

The complex will also make propylene oxide, polyether polyols, ethylene oxide, acrylic acid, polypropylene (PP), and other products.

Wanhua has grown quickly to become one of the world’s largest producers of polyurethane chemicals. In recent years, it has been branching out into other chemistries. In 2019 it shelved plans to build a polyurethane chemical plant in the US.

As MRC informed earlier, in April, 2021, Wanhua Chemical announced plans to build a new PDH plant in Fujian Province, southern China, adding to the PDH plant it operates at Yantai, eastern China. The new plant will be built within the Fujian Jiangyin economic zone, near the city of Fuqing. According to sources, the plant is expected to be completed in 2023.

Besdies, in January, 2020 Wanhua Chemical Group disclosed plans for a second ethylene cracker project at its Yantai, China, site with local government officials. The project will include a 1.2-million metric tons/year (MMt/y) ethylene unit; pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation; aromatics extraction; and production facilities for butadiene, high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polyethylene (PE) plastomers and elastomers, polypropylene (PP), and other derivatives. Timing and other details were not disclosed. The second ethylene project will use naphtha and C4s as feedstock.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

Azelis announces distribution agreement with Imerys Performance Minerals (PARP), a supplier of mineral-based solutions, according to SpecialChem.

Effective immediately, Imerys’ portfolio of mineral fillers for the CASE segment is available to Azelis customers across Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Togo.

The new agreement is a testament to Azelis’ partnership with Imerys, the mandate underscores Azelis’ commitment to organic growth with partners. Reinforcing Azelis’ lateral value chain, with the addition of Imerys’ high-quality products, all performance minerals in the CASE range are now accessible through Azelis.

“We’re delighted to enter into this new partnership with Imerys. Their high-quality performance minerals are fully complementary to our product range, and we look forward to bringing our complete portfolio of CASE performance minerals to the market,” said Frank Bakhuizen, market segment director CASE, EMEA at Azelis.

As MRC reported earlier, in March 2022, Azelis announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Whitfield Chemical Group Limited, a well-regarded distributor focused on coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers and rubber & plastic additives in the UK.

We remind that in June 2021, Azelis announced the extension of its distribution scope with CP Kelco in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. CP Kelco’s product range is a significant addition to Azelis’ portfolio and the new agreement marks an important milestone in the strong and continuously developing collaboration between both companies globally.

Besides, Azelis made two acquisitions in July, 2021, both in South Korea. The most recent agreement, announced on Jul. 14, is the proposed takeover of Seoul-headquartered Coseal, which specializes in the distribution, repackaging and blending of agricultural/horticultural surfactants. This transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, when all of Coseal’s 45 employees, along with its owner and CEO Sang Jin Kang, will transfer to the Belgium-based distributor.

Nearly two weeks earlier, on Jul. 1, Azelis revealed it had purchased MH, a local distributor in the food ingredients market, providing the multinational specialty chemicals distribution group with a foothold in the food and health segment. Also headquartered in Seoul, MH is a family-owned business, supplying products such as gluten, starches, sweeteners and functional food ingredients.

Azelis is a leading distributor of speciality chemicals and food ingredients present in over 50 countries across the globe with around 2,200 employees. Our knowledgeable teams of industry, market and technical experts are each dedicated to a specific market within Life Sciences and Industrial Chemicals.
MRC

Origin Materials has formed a strategic partnership with French luxury goods firm LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said the company.

As part of the partnership, LVMH signed a multiyear capacity reservation agreement with Origin to purchase “sustainable, carbon-negative PET (polyethylene terephthalate)” for use in packaging for LVMH's perfumes and cosmetics.

Furthermore, Origin aims to work with LVMH on sustainable packaging solutions across LVMH's brands, it added. Origin uses woody biomass as a chemical feedstock.

PET produced using Origin technology is functionally identical to petroleum-based PET, but with "a dramatically lower carbon footprint" since it is made from sustainable wood residues which capture carbon, the company said.

Additionally, Origin's PET is recyclable to fossil-based PET within existing infrastructure, "which is critical to creating a circular economy with a significantly reduced carbon footprint", it said. Financial or other details about the partnership with LVMH were not disclosed.

As per MRC, Origin Materials, Inc., the world’s leading carbon negative materials company, and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced that, subject to finalization of economic incentives, the company has selected a site in Geismar, Louisiana, for the construction of its first world-scale manufacturing facility, Origin 2. The facility would produce carbon-negative materials used to make polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) plastic, which is used in packaging, textiles, apparel, and other applications, as well as hydrothermal carbon, which can be used in fuel pellets, as activated carbon, and as a replacement for carbon black. Origin’s patented technology platform can turn the carbon found in sustainable wood residues into useful materials while capturing carbon in the process.

Headquartered in West Sacramento, Origin Materials is the world's leading carbon negative materials company. Origin’s mission is to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials. For over a decade, Origin has developed a platform for turning the carbon found in inexpensive, plentiful, non-food biomass such as sustainable wood residues into useful materials while capturing carbon in the process. Origin’s patented technology platform can help revolutionize the production of a wide range of end products, including clothing, textiles, plastics, packaging, car parts, tires, carpeting, toys.
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Canadian industrial chemicals producer Chemtrade Logistics is pursuing a land sale-leaseback structure for its chlor-alkali site in North Vancouver, British Columbia, province, said the company.

The company plans to offer about 40 acres (16 hectares) of industrial-zoned land for sale and leaseback, which could provide "significant liquidity" for investments in organic growth while also helping to reduce debt, CEO Scott Rook said in a statement on Tuesday.

The proposed sale-leaseback will not affect operations at the site. The remaining portion of the site is currently leased from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. Financial details were not disclosed.

As per MRC, Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund has agreed to sell its potassium chloride (KCl) and vaccine adjuvants businesses to Vertellus for about USD155m.

Chemtrade operates a diversified business providing industrial chemicals and services to customers in North America and around the world. Chemtrade is one of North America’s largest suppliers of sulphuric acid, spent acid processing services, inorganic coagulants for water treatment, sodium chlorate, sodium nitrite, sodium hydrosulphite and phosphorus pentasulphide. Chemtrade is a leading regional supplier of sulphur, chlor-alkali products, liquid sulphur dioxide, and zinc oxide. Additionally, Chemtrade provides industrial services such as processing by-products and waste streams.
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