India slashes tax on bio-pesticides, fertilizer feedstock

In a significant announcement, India’s union agriculture and rural development minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said that the newly revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates and slabs will have a far-reaching impact on the agriculture sector, as per Chemweek.

Chouhan highlighted that the reduction of GST on bio-pesticides and micro-nutrients will provide substantial benefits to farmers across the country. He emphasized that this shift is expected to encourage a growing trend among farmers to adopt biofertilizers over traditional chemical fertilizers.

The minister noted that there are 12 categories of biological pesticides and micronutrients that will now see reduced GST rates. This change is anticipated to bolster both natural and organic farming practices, as the decrease in prices for organic inputs will likely encourage more farmers to transition from chemical fertilizers to organic alternatives.

Moreover, Chouhan pointed out that the GST on essential fertilizers, including ammonia, sulfuric acid and nitric acid, has been slashed from 18% to 5%. As these substances are crucial raw materials for fertilizer production, the reduction in GST is expected to lead to lower prices for fertilizers, benefiting farmers significantly.

mrchub.com

In a significant policy shift, the US has announced that imports of polyethylene terephthalate, both virgin (PET) and recycled (rPET), will be subject to full tariffs as of Sept. 8, 2025, as per Chemweek.

The decision has raised significant concerns within the Southeast Asian and South Asian rPET markets, which have benefited from tariff exemptions.

On Sept. 5, the White House announced that harmonized system (HS) codes 3907.61.00 and 3907.69.00, which encompass all forms of PET, whether virgin or recycled, had been added to Annex 1, meaning they would become subject to the tariffs on Sept. 8.

The announcement came as a surprise to rPET and PET traders in India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, who broadly expected that the materials would remain categorized under Annex II and thus free of tariffs. One Indian trader told Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, that he had rerouted a cargo already en route to the US to Europe. Other traders predicted that demand for rPET from Southeast Asia will decline. The potential impact is particularly pronounced for Indian-origin cargoes, which may face tariffs as high as 50%.

Adding to the pressure, US PET prices have dropped significantly in recent months, with the ex-works price for recycled PET clear flakes in Los Angeles assessed at a 15-month low of 50 cents/lb as of Sept. 5. Meanwhile, rPET FOB India clear bottle grade flakes were valued at $850/mt FOB India on Sept. 8.

mrchub.com

Novonesis Group has entered a research partnership with Novo Nordisk A/S to explore the role of the gut microbiome in the maintenance of metabolic health, as per Chemweek.

Synbiotic food supplements, composed of probiotics and prebiotics, will be developed and tested as part of the partnership, according to a Novonesis statement Sept. 8.

“The partnership will investigate how the gut microbiome may be used to monitor and predict metabolic and overall health trajectories in individuals. Additionally, it will explore novel biomarkers with the aim of measuring the effectiveness of gut microbiome solutions,” Novonesis said.

The gut microbiome is the collection of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses that naturally live in the human gut, the company said. The science surrounding the microbiome, and how it contributes to human health in many ways, has grown tremendously over the last years, it said.

Probiotics are living microorganisms, while prebiotics are the “fuel” that helps sustain these beneficial microorganisms, the company added.

“This new collaboration with Novo Nordisk enables us to deepen our understanding of the gut microbiome’s role in maintaining metabolic health and to identify innovative products that support it,” said Henrik Joerck Nielsen, executive vice president/human health biosolutions and strategy at Novonesis.

mrchub.com

Orlen Unipetrol SA has restarted its steam cracker at Litvinov, Czechia, after a technical hitch that took the ethylene plant offline mid-August, as per Chemweek.

“Work to remedy a technical fault at the ethylene unit in the Litvinov chemical complex has been successfully completed,” Unipetrol said on Sept. 5. “We expect the petrochemical and refinery segments at our Litvinov complex to be fully operational again within the next week,” it said.

The restart of the cracker “will subsequently enable the resumption of production at other production units in the petrochemical part of the plant,” Unipetrol said. The cracker has a nameplate ethylene capacity of 585,000 metric tons per year and propylene capacity of 300,000 metric tons per year.

The integrated refining and petrochemical site’s 108,000 b/d crude oil refinery, which reduced its output in line with the cracker outage, will also gradually increase its production back to full capacity, it said.

The cracker outage due to a technical fault in the main compressor was announced by Unipetrol on Aug. 13.

mrchub.com

The head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, and Mongolian Prime Minister Gombojavyn Zandanshatar have discussed prospects for cooperation in the gas industry, Gazprom said, as per Interfax.

"During the working meeting, the advantages of using natural gas, an efficient and environmentally friendly energy source, for improving people's quality of life and industrial development were noted. In the presence of Alexei Miller and Gombojavyn Zandanshatar, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of PJSC Gazprom Vitaly Markelov and Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister Sainbuyangiin Amarsaikhan signed a memorandum of cooperation on studying the prospects for the gas infrastructure development of Ulaanbaatar," it said.

Earlier, during a speech at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, Oyun-Erdene said that Mongolia, through whose territory a gas pipeline from Russia to China will be laid, could itself use Russian gas: "Mongolia is not only a transit country; Mongolia can also consume and purchase natural gas, connect major Mongolian cities to this gas pipeline; that is, carry out gas infrastructure development. This will help the development of our country's industry, combat environmental disasters such as smog in Ulaanbaatar in winter, and bring new opportunities to the Mongolian economy, including becoming a strategically important natural resource for addressing pressing issues."

mrchub.com