Tokyo, Japan- Bullish market sentiments and surging feedstock Vinyl Acetate monomer (VAM) market forced major Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVOH) producers to raise the prices for the domestic and international markets. Kuraray Co. Ltd. decided to increase the prices effective from 1st May. Increasing utility costs and constrained logistics pressured the manufacturing units to revise the prices.

The unprecedented and extraordinary cost escalation of raw materials and downstream food packaging and textile enterprises in Japan boosted the prices in the regional market. The inflationary trend remains unexpectedly high, and the entire supply chain is still highly volatile and under very severe constraints with significant pressure on availability and costs.

The exports to India and other Southeast Asian countries improved after observing the surging need for the product in the regional market. Surging energy rates and high production costs have also affected the margins of local producers in the region. Continuing tension between Russia and Ukraine accelerated the price of crude oil and Natural Gas, impacting the prices of petrochemicals in Japan.

In the USA, the demand for Polyvinyl alcohol rushed along with cost support due to supply shortage and low operating rates in the manufacturing units. Soaring utility expenses and expanding costs of feedstock Vinyl Acetate monomer (VAM) further lifted the market. Due to the sharp ascent in energy costs, the margins of several PVOH producers have narrowed. Inventories of the product stayed low at the ports with an amendment in the costs for the abroad providers. The unprecedented and extraordinary cost escalation of raw materials and downstream textile and food packaging enterprises in the USA boosted the prices in the regional market.

According to ChemAnalyst, the price of Polyvinyl Alcohol is expected to increase due to high utility costs and affected market sentiments. Bullish feedstock Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) prices will be more likely to impact the downstream ventures, which will face problems in fulfilling the requirement from the consumer's end. Soaring Natural Gas and crude oil prices will narrow the profit margin of the manufacturers, and we can see a revision in the price trend for the domestic and international markets. 

"With bullish Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) prices, the downstream ventures are expected to increase further the cost of their products, and the final burden has to be borne by the consumers," according to a trusted source in Tokyo.