Current Import PE Offers In Vietnam Market Mostly Unfitted With Buyers’ Buy Idea
- Current import PE price levels deemed unworkable, deals recorded scanty
- Demand for PE resins remains dull on the back of several reasons
- Players foresee adjustment in the days to come considering buying sentiment
Market sources based in Vietnam contacted by SSESSMENTS.COM cited that the current import PE offers in the country were mostly unfitted with buyers’ buy idea. Particularly for Middle Eastern cargoes, the latest import offers from several Saudi producers surfaced with increments of between $30-60/ton for HDPE Film, $20-30/ton for LDPE Film and $10-50/ton for LLDPE Film C4. All price changes are on a monthly interval and some cargoes from a particular producer are already available in Singapore port. Responding to the offers, most buyers lamented that the current level is deemed too high and unsuitable with their buy idea. As such, some buyers decided to skip procurements, while some others attempted to bid lower from the initial offers. At the same time, there are some deals concluded but the number remains scanty. For the bids, a converter planned to submit at $860/ton, or $80/ton lower than the initial offer they have received for Saudi LLDPE Film C4. Another converter also planned to bid at $980/ton, or $15/ton lower from the initial offer level for Saudi LDPE Film. From the traders’ end, one of them received bids from their customers at $900/ton, or $30/ton lower than the initial offer level for both Saudi HDPE Film and LLDPE Film C4. However, the bids were rejected by the trader since the level is considered too low and the supply is limited.
From other origins, import offers for South Korean HDPE Film inched up by $20/ton on a biweekly comparison. Likewise, August shipment offers for US HDPE Film cargoes that are already available in Port Klang, Malaysia offered at $940/ton, or between $10-20/ton higher than July’s level. The converter who received the offers planned to place bids at $20/ton lower than the initial offer level. Moreover, import offers for Indian LLDPE Film C4 emerged with a decrease of $15/ton from a fortnight ago, whilst Thai HDPE Film offers remained stable from last week. All import offers are on LC at sight, CIF/CIP Vietnam Main Port basis.
For localized cargoes, SSESSMENTS.COM noted that the number of transactions is limited this week. Some deals for Saudi LLDPE Film C4 closed at VND23,400,000-23,500,000/ton ($1,006-1,010/ton). In the meantime, a trader expressed their sell idea for Malaysian LDPE Film at VND25,500,000/ton ($1,097/ton), citing that they managed to sell the cargoes at VND25,000,000/ton ($1,075/ton) in the prior week. All offers are on cash, FD Vietnam basis and including 10% VAT.
Speaking of the demand, buying sentiment for PE in the Vietnam market remains bearish as buyers are objecting to high prices. Aside from that, slow end-product sales coupled with weather-related issues such as the rainy season in the North and hot season in the South also counted as the reasons that hampered demand for resins. For end-products, demand is also sluggish; hence, most converters had to reduce production rate. Last week, production rates for finished products such as food packaging and plastic bags were running at 80% from normal capacity but now trimmed to 50-60%. No supply issues reported to SSESSMENTS.COM this week.
For the outlook, the majority of Vietnamese market players believe that the overall PE prices will meet a downturn in the near future considering buying sentiment. Meanwhile, players opined to SSESSMENTS.COM that demand for PE resins expected to remain sluggish in-line with sales for end-products.
