Cellulose ether: upstream raw materials have a greater impact, and the downstream market is growing.
Cellulose ether is a kind of natural polymer derived material, which has emulsification and suspension characteristics. In many kinds, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ether that is HPMC is the highest yield, the most widely used one, its production is increasing rapidly.
In recent years, benefiting from the national economic growth, the production of cellulose ether of our country rises year by year. At the same time, with the development of domestic science and technology, the original need to import a large number of high-end cellulose ether now gradually realize localization, and the export of domestic cellulose ether is rising. Data show that from January to November 2020, China exported 64,806 tons of cellulose ether, up 14.2% year on year, higher than the whole of 2019.
In recent years, benefiting from the national economic growth, the production of cellulose ether of our country rises year by year. At the same time, with the development of domestic science and technology, the original need to import a large number of high-end cellulose ether now gradually realize localization, and the export of domestic cellulose ether is rising. Data show that from January to November 2020, China exported 64,806 tons of cellulose ether, up 14.2% year on year, higher than the whole of 2019.
Cellulose ether affected by upstream cotton prices
The main raw materials for cellulose ethers include agricultural and forestry products, including refined cotton, and chemical products, including propylene oxide. The raw material of refined cotton is cotton short cashmere, and the cotton short cashmere is mainly produced in Shandong, Xinjiang, Hebei and Jiangsu. The source of cotton fleece is very abundant and in sufficient supply.
Cotton accounts for a large proportion in the economic structure of commodity agriculture, and its price is affected by natural conditions and international supply and demand. Similarly, propylene oxide, chloromethane and other chemical products are also affected by international crude oil prices. Since raw materials account for a large proportion in the cost structure of cellulose ether, the fluctuation of raw material price directly affects the selling price of cellulose ether.
In order to cope with the cost pressure, cellulose ether manufacturers often transfer the pressure to the downstream industry, but the transfer effect is affected by the complexity of technical products, product diversity and the level of product cost and added value. Generally, enterprises with high technical barriers, rich product categories and high added value have greater advantages and will maintain a relatively stable gross profit level. Otherwise, enterprises need to face greater cost pressure. In addition, if the external environment is unstable and the range of product fluctuations is large, upstream raw material enterprises are more willing to choose the downstream customers with large production scale and strong comprehensive strength, so as to ensure timely economic benefits and reduce risks. Therefore, this limits the development of small-scale cellulose ether enterprises to a certain extent.
Cellulose ether is a kind of natural polymer derived material, which has emulsification and suspension characteristics. In many kinds, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ether that is HPMC is the highest yield, the most widely used one, its production is increasing rapidly.
With the continuous progress of science and technology, the downstream demand market is growing, and the downstream application scope is expected to expand continuously, and the downstream demand is maintaining stable growth. In the downstream market structure of cellulose ether, building materials, oil extraction, food and other fields occupy a major position. Among them, the building materials sector is the largest consumer market, accounting for more than 30%.
The construction industry is the largest consumption field of HPMC products
In the construction industry, HPMC products play an important bond, water retention and other effects. After mixing a small amount of HPMC with cement mortar, the viscosity, tensile and shear strength of cement mortar, mortar and binder can be increased, so as to improve the performance of building materials, improve the quality of construction and mechanical construction efficiency. In addition, HPMC is also an important retarder for the production and transportation of commercial concrete, which plays a role in water locking and enhancing the rheological properties of concrete. At present, HPMC is the most important cellulose ether products used in building sealing materials.
Building industry is the key pillar industry of our national economy. Data show that the housing construction area increased from 7.08 billion square meters in 2010 to 14.42 billion square meters in 2019, strongly driving the growth of cellulose ether market.
The overall boom of the real estate industry picked up, and the area of construction and sales rose year-on-year. Public data show that in 2020, the monthly year-on-year decline in the new construction area of commercial residential housing continues to narrow, down 1.87% year on year, 2021 is expected to continue the repair trend. In the first two months of this year, the growth rate of commercial residential housing area rebounded to 104.9%, a respectable increase.
Oil drilling
The drilling engineering services industry market is particularly affected by global E&P investments, with approximately 40% of the global exploration portfolio being devoted to drilling engineering services.
During oil drilling and production, drilling fluids play an important role in carrying and suspending chips, strengthening hole walls and balancing formation pressure, cooling and lubricating the bit, and transferring hydrodynamic forces. Therefore, in the oil drilling work, it is very important to maintain the proper humidity, viscosity, fluidity and other indicators of drilling fluid. Polyanionic cellulose, or PAC, can thicken, lubricate bits, and transfer hydrodynamic forces. Due to the complex geological conditions of oil storage area and the difficulty of drilling, there is a large number of PAC use demand.
Pharmaceutical excipients industry
Non-ionic cellulose ethers are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry as pharmaceutical excipients, such as thickeners, dispersants, emulsifiers and film formers. It is used for film coating and adhesive of medicinal tablets, and can also be used in suspensions, eye preparations, floating tablets and so on. Due to the more stringent requirements on the purity and viscosity of medicinal cellulose ether products, the manufacturing process is relatively complex and the washing procedures are more complex. Compared with other cellulose ether products, the collection rate is lower, the production cost is higher, but the product added value is also higher. Pharmaceutical excipients are mainly used in chemical pharmaceutical preparations, Chinese patent medicine, biological and biochemical products and other pharmaceutical products.
Because the pharmaceutical auxiliary materials industry started late, the overall development level is low at present, the industry mechanism needs to be further improved. Among the output value of domestic pharmaceutical preparations, the output value of domestic medicinal dressings accounts for a relatively low proportion of 2%-3%, which is much lower than that of foreign medicinal excipients (about 15%). It can be seen that there is still a great space for the development of domestic medicinal excipients, which is expected to effectively drive the growth of the relevant cellulose ether market.
Post time: Aug-31-2022