A distributor of Thai PP producers stated to SSESSMENTS.COM that supply condition has urged the producers to amend local and export offers but in contrast with market expectations. As reported by the distributor, the latest offers for PP Homopolymer grades from two local PP producers have emerged with an upward adjustment of THB1,000/ton ($31/ton) from last week’s levels. Meanwhile, another PP producer did not make any adjustment yet their offers are available at the same level as other producers. To the export market, offers for PP Homo Injection and PP Homo Raffia from one of the producers also increased by $10/ton and by $30/ton, respectively, as compared to a week earlier. The distributor was notified that the reason behind the increment is owing to the tight supply stemming from the upcoming maintenance shutdown at the producers’ PP plant.
Responding to the price increment, most buyers in the local market are unwilling to place orders and prefer to wait on the sidelines until the offers move down again in the upcoming weeks. Similarly, buyers in the export market also showed a cold response toward the current prices as it is considered too high. Due to this, the distributor voiced out to SSESSMENTS.COM that sales in both domestic and export markets would remain slow this week.
Speaking of the demand, SSESSMENTS.COM noted that sales for plastic packaging remain slow and no significant improvement observed although the government has officially given permission for department stores to re-open since last Sunday (May 17). Regarding that, the distributor cited two prominent factors that hindered citizens from going out. First, most of them are still worried about contracting the disease and second, several complicated protocols that must be carried out in order to enter the department store. Besides department stores, restaurants have also re-open and people are allowed to dine-in but one table is only limited for two visitors. For the curfew, the government is giving one additional hour from 10 PM to 11 PM. For the outlook, the distributor did not expect to see a major improvement in demand within May, however, they hope that the situation would be a lot better in June.
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