BASF ups costs of BDO intermediates to restore margins after demand picks up

06-Jun-2017 - Last updated on 07-Jun-2017 at 05:24 GMT

Image: iStock/Davizro

BASF has raised prices in Europe by as much as €300 per metric ton as demand returns for its butanediol-based chemicals.

The Ludwigshafen, Germany-headquartered fine chemicals company announced from immediate effect prices of butanediol and its derivatives in Europe are to go up, with 1,4-Butanediol (BDO) being raised by €200 ($224) per metric ton, while Polytetramethylene ether glycol (PolyTHF) will increase by €300 per metric ton.

While BASF spokesman Klaus-Peter Rieser would not disclose what percentage these hikes represented, he told in-Pharmatechnologist they bring the prices back in line after a period of declining demand.

“Prices in the whole BDO value chain have been declining since 2014 in line with increasing availability and have hit unsustainable levels. Now in the context of healthy downstream business and strong demand, the price increase targets to further restore margins.”

In the pharma industry, the chemical BDO and its derivatives are used as intermediates. Dehydrated BDO is used to make the intermediate Tetrahydrofuran (THF), used as a solvent in the manufacture of a number of products, for example.

The chemicals are also used in a variety of other industries for producing engineering plastics, polyurethanes, solvents and elastic spandex fibres.

The last BDO price hike BASF announced was in 2013 to reflect the increased cost of both the raw materials and utilities including electricity and logistics.