Introduction: Compared with the cheap and friendly "glue" friends in 2016, the price of xanthan gum has risen significantly recently. The imbalance between supply and demand has led to tight supply, and the xanthan gum industry has ushered in a wave of strong price increases. Judging from the existing supply and demand pattern, the overall price trend in the third and fourth quarters is still improving.

Status: Supply is tight, prices are strong

In the first half of this year, the overall trend of the domestic xanthan gum market was strong. As of July 20, the market price of food-grade 80-mesh xanthan gum was 42,100 yuan/ton, an average price increase of 50.8% from the second half of last year and an increase of 81.8% from the same period last year. . At present, the supply of xanthan gum is relatively tight, and some brands are a bit "hard to find a ton", and the leading companies have pre-sale contracts until September-October. Judging from the characteristics of price fluctuations, the price of xanthan gum this year has been creating a new high for the monthly average price in the past ten years.

Guiding factors: increased demand, low supply matching

The xanthan gum industry has a certain dependence on exports. 70%-80% of the annual output is used for export, and more than 40% of the consumption is widely used in petroleum as emulsifier, stabilizer, gel thickener, sizing agent, etc. mining field. Customs data shows that from January to June this year, the export volume and price rose together, of which the total export volume reached 85,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 37.1%, and the average export price was 5,483.3 US dollars / ton, a year-on-year increase of 28.67%. From the current situation of xanthan gum companies receiving orders and the shortage of domestic supply, it is expected that exports in the third and fourth quarters are still relatively satisfactory, with an average monthly export volume of 14,500-15,000 tons.

Table 1 Statistics of China's xanthan gum exports from January to June

At present, there are many pre-sale contracts, and upstream production enterprises are more motivated to start construction. However, according to the latest research data, the industry supply in Inner Mongolia in July was lower than expected, and the monthly output of the industry was about 15,300 tons. Mainly due to factors such as routine maintenance in summer and equipment renewal, and the maintenance may continue until around September. Taking into account the increase in exports and the regular consumption of domestic sales, the supply of xanthan gum industry will continue to be relatively tight.

Source: Zhuochuang Information sci99.com