{"id":4496,"date":"2013-09-06T12:13:27","date_gmt":"2013-09-06T16:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.datamyne.com\/?p=4496"},"modified":"2022-05-04T10:09:48","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T14:09:48","slug":"chemicals-price-setter-south-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.datamyne.com\/knowledge-center\/data-applications\/chemicals-price-setter-south-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Chemicals Price-Setter: South Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the trail of \u201cThe New Cheap*\u201d Chemcost finds an opportunity to save on precipitated silica | by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chemicals buyers \u2013 in whatever country they are based \u2013 can economically benefit from discontinuous price opportunities, wherever they are to be found.<\/p>\n

Last month, we examined Chinese cross-border commerce in the basket of chemicals commodities used in the monthly Datamyne US Best Price Benchmark (on Datamyne\u2019s homepage<\/a>) in our quest for what Chemcost calls \u201cThe New Cheap\u201d \u2013 the lowest transaction prices recorded in the latest import-export trade data.<\/p>\n

This month our focus turns to South Korea, where we expect shifts in pricing trends (and, hence, opportunities for savings) in the wake of the US-South Korea free trade agreement that entered into force in March 2012.<\/p>\n

Chemcost\u2019s survey of this year\u2019s lowest prices in South Korean and US trade to-date for the basket of 10 commodities used in the Datamyne US Best Price Benchmark is summarized in Chart 1, with the sources for the best prices highlighted.<\/p>\n

\"Chemcost<\/a>If you are shopping for inorganic chemicals or metals \u2013 with the exception of soda ash \u2013 Asian sources still offer prices favorable for cost savings. For the 10 commodities surveyed, imports are the source for 8 out of 10 of the lowest prices.<\/p>\n

Note that China is not the only place US customers can find \u201cthe New Cheap.\u201d (Note, too, the importance of Datamyne\u2019s multi-national trade databases. If we had used US-centric trade data only to identify price opportunities in the US, we would have missed 6 of the 10 lowest price benchmarks from Asia.)<\/p>\n

A second survey of the data supports the premise that, given an open trade environment, purchasers of the largest volumes on long-term bases should be getting the best prices. Chart 2 summarizes 2013 trade volumes in kilotons (kt), with the volumes that fetched the best prices highlighted.<\/p>\n

\"Chemcost<\/a>If the trade playing field of volumes and lower prices were a virtual baseball game, this scorecard shows that US chemical purchasers might be headed for a loss in 2013 \u2013 unless they have access to best global prices such as are presented here.<\/p>\n

Finally, here\u2019s a closer look at commercial sodium silicates. Sodium silicates are chemically converted with caustic soda to produce precipitated silicas at production sites in South Korea, China, the US and other countries. Chart 3 provides the figures for South Korea and US trade in this commodity:<\/p>\n

\"Chemcost<\/a>For sodium silicates, prices and higher volumes shipped are all about what is going in Asia \u2013 including Chinese imports, where average prices are $502\/mt less or 71% lower! More observations:<\/p>\n