Sources: Buyers Turning To Domestic Market As Import PET Offers Deemed Unattractive
- Local prices shifted in a similar path with last week’s trend
- Demand for certain products remains on an upward trajectory
- Near-term outlook remains unclear
Indonesian market players shared with SSESSMENTS.COM that the majority of buyers in Indonesia is turning to the domestic market to source the materials since current import offers are unattractive, considering the lead time and currency fluctuations. Indonesia’s domestic PET prices were largely stable-to-soft this week, with prices hovering mostly at IDR10,000,000/ton ($684/ton)-level. Most buyers received PET Bottle offers from a local producer between IDR150,000-250,000/ton ($10-17/ton) lower than the offer level available in the previous week. Meanwhile, another producer sets a different pricing strategy from other suppliers, maintaining a stable offer level from a week earlier. Transactions were mostly concluded at slightly lower than the initial offer level. From the import market, sources pointed out that most import offers were still hovering at around $600/ton-level. This week, a Chinese producer offered import PET Bottle to Indonesia market at $670/ton on LC at sight, CIF Indonesia Main Port basis, a rollover from last week’s level. Meanwhile, a local converter reported on receiving import cargoes of Taiwan and Vietnam origin between $10-15/ton lower as compared to last week’s level. The converter managed to clinch a deal for Taiwanese cargoes at $680/ton, or at $15/ton lower than the initial offer level.
Indonesia PET market leans toward a more bullish tone compared with the previous week, since an uptick in end-users demand continues to lift sentiment in the market. The growing demand for hand-sanitizer and bottled water has resulted in bulk buying and price marks-up. However, a rebound in consumer confidence has yet to translate into widespread spending. Some converters still refrain from purchasing in bulk and prefer to adopt a cautious stance before taking the next decision. On the production front, most downstream factories are gradually ramping up production activities, even though overall demand has yet to return to the pre-crisis level, while some started rolling off the production lines again following weeks of closure. No significant supply issues reported to SSESSMENTS.COM.
The majority of market players in Indonesia remains unsure of how the market will play out in the upcoming weeks since market indeed continues to be unpredictable and changing rapidly. As such, most market participants prefer to take a wait-and-see approach, SSESSMENTS.COM was told.
