28 September 2012 03:22 [Source: ICIS news]
By Chow Bee Lin
A local producer offered film grade LLDPE at Malaysian ringgit (M$) 4,680/tonne ($1,519/tonne) DEL (delivered) for October, M$260/tonne costlier compared with film grade LDPE, which is offered at RM4,420/tonne DEL, local buyers said.
The price spread was around M$190/tonne when the same producer offered LLDPE and LDPE at M$4,570/tonne and M$4,380/tonne
Some plastics processors have already increased the LDPE content in retail and industrial packaging material to 60%, with LLDPE accounting for the balance 40% content, the buyers said.
These plastics processors used to apply a content ratio of 60-70% LLDPE and 30-40% LDPE, they added.
But not all plastics processors will raise the LDPE content to cut cost because that will compromise the end-product quality, a plastics processor in
“Using more LDPE can only be a short-term solution because LLDPE offers stronger tear resistance and tensile strength,” he said.
By increasing the LDPE content in their semi-finished and finished products, plastics processors are likely to incur higher raw material cost when LDPE starts trading above LLDPE, said suppliers in
Packaging material made from LDPE are more transparent and hence can offer higher aesthetic value, one of the suppliers said.
“End-users will be unwilling to accept a lower LDPE content once they get used to products with high LDPE content,” he said.
Most processors will not raise the LDPE content to above 60% because that will change the quality of their end-product significantly, a regional trader said.
There are two LDPE plants in
Titan Chemical also operates a 205,000 tonne/year hign density PE (HDPE/LLDPE) swing plant in Johor, and Polyethylene
($1 = M$3.08)
Read John Richardson and Malini Hariharan’s blog – Asian Chemical Connections
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