Braskem's 2Q Brazil resin sales down 10pc

Market: Petrochemicals
27/07/23

Brazil-based petrochemical producer Braskem's domestic resin sales volumes fell 10pc in the second quarter, while volumes rose in Mexico, Europe and in the US from a year prior.

Domestic resin sales hit 789,000 metric tonnes (t) in the quarter, down from 879,000t in the second quarter of 2022. Compared with the previous quarter, Braskem's Brazil resin sales were down by 11pc on lower demand for polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and on decreased consumption from the packaging, hospital and household appliances sectors.

Domestic chemical sales of 606,000t were 16pc lower than a year earlier and 13pc lower than in the prior quarter, the company said in its preliminary second quarter production and sales report.

In Mexico, polyethylene (PE) sales through the Braskem Idesa joint venture increased by 13pc to 214,000t from a year earlier, explained by the higher availability of product for sale as utilization rates rose. Compared with the previous quarter, sales rose by 8pc.

Braskem Idesa's plant utilization rate rose in the quarter to 86pc, up by 19 percentage points from a year earlier, amid higher ethane supply from Mexican state-owned Pemex, which hit 36,000 b/d in the second quarter, and increased imports from the US. Braskem Idesa in the quarter imported 21,000 b/d of ethane from the US. Compared to the first quarter the plant's utilization rate was up by 14 percentage points.

Consolidated numbers for the US and Europe show that second quarter PP sales hit 536,000t, up by 2pc from a year earlier and up by 3pc from the previous quarter. This is due to higher PP sales volumes in the US on increased demand after the de-stocking process in the supply chain during the previous quarter, and to higher product availability for sale in Europe.

Braskem's combined US and Europe PP plant utilization hit 80pc of capacity, flat year-over-year, but down from 81pc in the prior quarter.

Braskem plans to report complete results for the second quarter on 8 August.

By Frederico Fernandes

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Braskem's 2Q Brazil resin sales down 10pc

Related news posts

US PET collection falls, rPET demand weakens: NAPCOR

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