Mitsui Chemicals Declared Price Hikes for all its Polyethylene (PE) Products

In recent days, several well known overseas chemical companies have made announcements regarding price increases for their products, and they have even finalized their price adjustments for the upcoming peak season. Mitsui Chemicals has declared that, starting from October, it will implement price hikes for all its polyethylene (PE) products. These price adjustments will impact products such as “Sentec-LD,” “Sentec-HD,” “Sentec-EVA,” and “Clex,” with increases exceeding 20 Japanese yen per kilogram (approximately CNY 993 per ton).

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation has also revealed its plans to raise prices, effective from October 1^st for products like phenol, acetone and their derivatives. The price increases will range from 15 to 165 Japanese yen per ton (approximately CNY 745 to 8,194 per ton).

Dow, another major player in the chemical industry, has announced its intention to increase prices for certain products under the DOWSIL™ and Vorasurf™ brands beginning from October 7th. The price increases for these products will range from 5% to 10%.

Prinova Polymer Chemical Co., Ltd. has joined the trend, announcing price hikes for polyethylene (HDPE, LLDPE) and polypropylene (PP) products, effective from October 1st. These price increases will be 15 Japanese yen per kilogram or more (approximately CNY 744 per ton).

The confidence in foreign companies’ price increases stems from their trusted quality, brand reputation, high technological barriers, and their dominance in an oligopolistic market. This gives leading companies significant influence over the entire chemical market. Similar situations are occurring within the domestic chemical industry, with top-tier companies raising prices aggressively. Meanwhile, mid-tier and lower-tier companies are attempting to follow suit to stay competitive.

The domestic chemical market has heated up as well, with widespread price increases. Many raw materials are experiencing a strong upward trend, with 62 out of 67 monitored raw materials seeing price hikes in the past month, affecting over 90% of them.

Among these, 28 products have experienced price increases exceeding 10%, including liquid chlorine with a 68% increase, sulfuric acid with over 52% increase, acetic acid with over 45% increase, soda ash with over 45% increase and hydrogen peroxide with over 34% increase. Additionally, 19 raw materials have seen price increases exceeding CNY 1,000 per ton within the month, such as acetic acid (+1508), butyl acetate (+2066), n-butanol (+2221), butyl acrylate (+1988), pure benzene (+1070), butadiene rubber (+1550) and bisphenol A (+1375).