- Bangladesh PP market severely battered by Coronavirus during Q2 2020
- Buying sentiment showed a slight improvement in June
- Bangladeshi PP market players pessimistic that demand will improve in Q3
During Q2 2020, SSESSMENTS.COM noted that Bangladesh PP market was still battered by the Coronavirus outbreak. However, in June some improvement was shown in the market as the Bangladeshi government relaxed the lockdown restrictions. In April, within the week commencing April 6, offers for import PP Homo Raffia of Saudi origin were available at $800/ton on LC at sight, CFR Chittagong Port. However, buyers’ buy idea was between $80-100/ton lower than the initial offer levels. During the same time, bids at $720/ton with the same payment and shipment term for Indian cargoes were rejected as the producer managed to sell to the China market at $740-750/ton on LC at sight, CIF Main Port basis. In the final week of the month, Saudi PP Homo Raffia cargoes were available at $900/ton on LC at sight, CFR Chittagong Port. But again, buyers’ buy idea was at $200/ton lower than the initial offer level.
In May, within the week commencing May 4, Indian and Omani producers trimmed import PP Homo Raffia offers by $20/ton on the biweekly comparison. During the same timeframe, import PP Homo Raffia offers of Saudi origin decreased between $50-60/ton. In the second week of May, Indian PP Homo Raffia increased by $10/ton. During the same time, Saudi PP Homo Raffia via a global trading house was available between $30-40/ton higher, all prices were on a weekly comparison. On the week commencing May 18, SSESSMENTS.COM noted that market players were uninterested in trading activities due to Eid Al-Fitr holiday which started on May 20. However, a global trading house still managed to achieve deals for Middle Eastern PP Homo Raffia at $820/ton on LC at sight, CFR Chittagong Port.
Since the first week of June or after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, SSESSMENTS.COM was told that there were no offers below $900/ton-level. Import PP Homo Raffia offers of India and Saudi origin were available between $900-920/ton on LC at sight, CFR Chittagong Port, or increased by $60/ton compared to the prices before Eid Al-Fitr holiday. In the second week of the month, buyers’ acceptance level for Middle Eastern PP Homo Raffia cargoes was at $880/ton-level owing to slow demand. On the week commencing June 15, import PP Homo Raffia of Vietnam and India origin went up by $20/ton as compared to a week earlier. During the second half of June, no deals were reported in the Bangladesh PP market. However, in late June, deals for Indian PP Homo Raffia were achieved at the initial offer level at $970-980/ton on LC at sight, CFR Chittagong Port.
Bangladesh PP market was severely battered by the pandemic. The country has been under nationwide lockdown since March 26 and got extended for several times. The Bangladeshi government relaxed the lockdown in the country on May 31 which allowed stores and malls to reopen with limited operational hours. During this time, demand for PP resins started to improve. However, on May 9, the government classified the areas into three zones (green, yellow, and red) based on the severity level of the virus transmission. Added to that, the government decided to impose area-wise lockdowns in capital Dhaka and other regions and extended the movement restrictions until June 30. As such, most market players back to the cautious stance as demand weakened. Besides, the Eid Al-Fitr holiday in the second half of May also put Bangladesh PP market on mute, as noted by SSESSMENTS.COM. On the supply front, no significant issues reported during the Q2 2020.
Looking into Q3 2020, Bangladeshi market participants stated a pessimistic outlook as the re-imposed lockdowns will weaken the economy and lead to a significant drop in demand. However, import PP Homo Raffia prices will remain in a positive note following the international market trend, as stated to SSESSMENTS.COM.
