8Leveraging on its competencies in manufacturing advanced lithium-based salts, Neogen Chemicals Ltd (NCL) has announced the establishment of a 250-MT electrolyte formulation capacity
8This is a great direction to go to capitalize on the opportunities that lie in lithium-ion batteries and Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC)  manufacturing
8What is more, a ramp-up in the capacity utilisation of the recently-tripled organic chemicals facility at Dahej will fuel near-term growth

8Philippine petrochemical producer JG Summit is expected by market participants to now start up its new 250,000 t/yr high-density polyethylene (HDPE) unit at Batangas in mid-2022, a delay from an earlier target of this year's first quarter

8Asahi Kasei has announced that its 100 per cent subsidiary, Tongsuh Petrochemical Corp. Ltd (TSPC), has acquired the widely recognised international certification ISCC PLUS for its acrylonitrile (AN) as a sustainable product
8Production of AN using biomass propylene is scheduled to begin in February 2022

8SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, has introduced LNP ELCRIN EXL7414B copolymer, the company’s first bio-based polycarbonate (PC) copolymer to help advance the consumer electronics industry’s net zero carbon emissions goals

8The fight between plastic producers and advocacy groups are now coming to a head in the US
8And data is being thrown around by both sides, in what is a battle for eyeballs of the policy makers
8Can we expect a similar backlash in India?

Cetex Petrochemicals Ltd is the sole producer of MEK and SBA in India with a combined installed capacity to manufacture 22,000 MTPA and 1,000 MTPA of MIBC.
8But it faces stiff competition from imports
8So the going is not all that easy

8High and volatile polymer prices, bad weather, and general destocking by dealers have lead to a slowdown in key segments of the end product market, including PVC pipes and packaging products
8Know more about the churning that is going on through the eyes of one of the big downstream manufacturer in India

8The chemical industry in India is a major sector manufacturing around 80,000 products, and employing ~2 million people. The sector size is estimated to be around $178 billion in FY19, of which specialty chemical is estimated to be around $32 billion
8So what is the sector expecting from the Union Budget?

8A new global quality-assured trading platform for plastic feedstock will work to enable buyers and sellers to efficiently trade recycled plastic with trust and confidence
8Scheduled to open for trading in mid-2022, Rebound Plastic Exchange will introduce globally recognized standards, certification, insurance, and quality assurance into the supply chain
8At least that is what the company claims

8Here is a foreign company introducing a new ‘Drive Your Creativity’ campaign that will focus on communications that highlight the importance of sustainable thinking when it comes to tyres
8Essentially, the message being hoped to pass is that everyone can be involved in supporting smart tyre use in a responsible way
8India too needs a similar campaign

8A new chemical-free invention is being used to treat textiles
8Find out more about the product

8For those in India providing colours for the automobile industry, a new innovation by one car maker abroad is making third party validation of colour quality easier
8Can similar processes be followed in India?

8Arun Bharatram's SRF Ltd has posted a massive increase in turnover and profits
8Clearly, this has been a great year for the company
8And going with the heady times, the company has announced big capex plans

8Wacker Chemie AG, the German based chemical conglomerate has posted a massive increase in turnover and profits
8This strong rise was mainly due to volume growth and higher selling prices across every business division

8Get the monthly update on fertilizer imports here

8Get full details of agri-product exports and imports into India here

H2Pro - an Israel based startup working to categorically change the green hydrogen industry – has raised USD 75 million to accelerate their hydrogen production research. The company’s core innovation focuses on their E-TAC (electrochemical-thermally activated chemical) technology for water splitting without a costly membrane.
8The absence of a membrane enables lower cost and more compact hydrogen production systems
8A lot of big multinationals have joined hands with the Israeli startup

8TotalEnergies Polymer plant in Feluy, Belgium, announced the startup of a new production of high-performance polymers with the commissioning of a new reactor in its polypropylene unit

8Toray Industries, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, has developed a nylon 510 fibre that incorporates 100% biobased synthetic polymer content as defined under ISO 16620-1: 2015, the international standard for the biobased content of plastics

Saudi Arabia has the big advantage of being a low cost producer of petrochemicals.
Its companies therefore straddle the world.
8And after the 2020 down cycle, there is now a big upturn in the market with demand springing back in from China as well as India
8Find out more what the outlook is and get a very detailed analysis of the market, including the fact that a big supply driven down cycle is expected ahead

8Get the latest rubber prices in Singapore

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Get today's cotton prices here
8China Cotton Index : 26-01-2022: 22707 Yuan (Changed: +55)
8Karachi Cotton Association Spot Rate: 26-01-2022: Pak 19480 (37.324Kg)
8(Un-Changed :) NYBOT- Cotton Future: 26-01-2022: Mar: 2022 : $ 122.33 (Changed : +1.41)

8The website carries here a weekly outlook on acetone prices
8Find out what our analysts are saying about how prices will behave till next week

8We are carrying here a weekly dioctyl phthalate market report
8Find out what kind of prices are projected going ahead