Paraffin wax prices continue to surge owing to the soaring price in China

The prices of Paraffin Wax continue to rise due to the inflated upstream crude oil prices; the Indian Market has been witnessing this rise in prices from the second half of the last year due to the high demand for upstream crude. India imports most of its Paraffin wax primarily from China, so the price trend in China greatly influences the Indian price trends. The price of Paraffin wax in India was recorded at INR 156380/MT Ex-Delhi NCR on March 2022.

In India, with the arrival of the harvesting season (April - June) the demand for fertilizers increases, and Paraffin is added to the fertilizers to ease the handling and transportation of the fertilizers. Paraffin candles have gained popularity in recent years due to their reliability and tendency to burn cleaner and the fact that they burn brighter than any other candles. Paraffin wax candles are the most preferred ones than the others.

The high demand for Paraffin wax have already been elevating the prices and India’s dependency on China for Paraffin wax worsen the condition because there is an upward trend of Paraffin prices in China also. The price hike in the Chinese market is mainly due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine since Russia exports a large amount of upstream Crude oil to China. The inclining price in the Chinese market is due to the growing demand from the downstream Cosmetic sector, China has grown into the second-largest cosmetic consuming country in recent years, despite the rise in Paraffin wax prices. The new Chinese scheme to reduce the exports to achieve their carbon emission goals, so it abets the price hike in India.

According to ChemAnalyst, the rising price trend in both the Chinese and Indian markets is to continue for the upcoming years as there is nothing to reduce or even stabilize the upstream crude oil prices, the ongoing war is also worsening the crude oil situation. The Chinese government’s decision to pose a lockdown on one city recently, if the covid spreads and extends to other cities, may likely rise the price of Paraffin wax in India drastically due to lack of supply from China.