- Bangladesh was under nationwide Coronavirus lockdown throughout April
- Some local converters were forced to shut production temporarily due to slow sales
- Players hope market to recover by early June
In the first week of April, there were no import offers reported in the Bangladesh market, traders and buyers were not doing business as most of the workers were asked to stay at home since the government decided to extend the national lockdown to April 13 from the initial period March 26 - April 6, as SSESSMENTS.COM noted. Moving to the week commencing April 6, SSESSMENTS.COM noted that offer from Saudi producer for PP Homo Raffia to Bangladesh was available at $800/ton LC at sight, CFR Chittagong Port, but buyers’ buy idea was between $700-720/ton on the same payment and delivery terms. In the same week, an Indian producer announced a tender for PP Homo Raffia and a global trading house submitted bids at $720/ton LC at sight, CFR Chittagong Port for purchases of 2,500 tons. However, the bid was rejected by the producer as market talks have it that the producer managed to sell to China at $740-750/ton on LC at sight, CIF Main Port basis.
Moving to the week commencing April 13, most foreign suppliers were withdrawing offers to Bangladesh and prioritizing selling to the China market since China PP prices started to soar, as SSESSMENTS.COM noted. By the week commencing April 27, fresh import PP offers have started to emerge in the Bangladesh market after previously some suppliers decided to withdraw their offers to the country. In this particular week, Saudi PP Homo Raffia cargoes were available at $900/ton on LC at sight, CFR Chittagong Port. Meanwhile, some buyers voiced out buying ideas for Middle Eastern PP Homo Raffia at $700/ton on the same payment and delivery term, considering the slow polymer market amid Coronavirus pandemic. For US cargoes, offers for PP Homo Injection and PP Homo Raffia stood at the same level, at $890/ton on LC at sight, CFR Chittagong Port.
Bangladesh PP market pummeled as the Coronavirus outbreak intensified. Bangladesh has been under nationwide lockdown since March 26, but got extended several times as the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in the country continued to climb. The latest announcement from the government stated that lockdown will expire on May 5. Market sources in Bangladesh informed SSESSMENTS.COM that the number of transactions and inquiries had decreased significantly until almost literally muted since the outbreak peaked in late March. As most market participants were away from their desks while some preferred to wait on the sidelines, PP demand remained sluggish during April. Additionally, during the lockdown, the bank was not fully operating and customers could not open Letter of Credit (LC) facilities. As such, buyers were not able to do any transactions due to payment issues. On the production front, some local converters were still running at a reduced capacity, while most have been forced to cease operation temporarily due to sluggish sales. On the supply front, no significant issues were reported as demand was dull.
Looking into May, Bangladeshi buyers expect lower PP prices to surface in the market since the demand is still sluggish. Demand-wise, Bangladeshi market players expect the PP market to start to recover by early June, with a hope that Coronavirus outbreak can be controlled within May.
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