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U.S. and China Expand Caustic Soda Exports to Brazil

caustic soda

U.S. and China Expand Caustic Soda Exports to Brazil

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘Brazil – Caustic Soda – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights‘. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

In 2020, Brazil’s caustic soda imports jumped by +17% y-o-y to 2.7M tonnes, or by +11% y-o-y to $507M in value terms. The U.S., followed by Peru and China, remains the key supplier of caustic soda to Brazil, accounting for 91% of the import volume. Last year, purchases from the U.S. and China soared in physical terms, while imports from Peru declined by -12% y-o-y. The average caustic soda import price dropped by -5.3% y-o-y to $185 per tonne in 2020.

Brazil’s Caustic Soda Imports 

In 2020, approx. 2.7M tonnes of caustic soda were imported into Brazil, increasing by +17% against the previous year’s figure. In value terms, caustic soda imports expanded by +10.6% y-o-y to $507M (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

In 2020, the U.S. (2.5M tonnes) was the leading supplier of caustic soda to Brazil, with a 91% share of total imports. It was followed by Peru (65K tonnes), with a 2.4% share of total imports. China (63K tonnes) ranked third in terms of total imports with a 2.3% share.

In 2020, the volume of supplies from the U.S. totalled grew by +13.7% y-o-y. Imports from Peru dropped by -12.3% y-o-y, while purchases from China rose nearly twofold.

In value terms, the U.S. ($451M) constituted the largest supplier of to Brazil, comprising 89% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by China ($15M), with a 3% share of total imports, and it was followed by Peru, with a 2.6% share.

The average caustic soda import price stood at $185 per tonne in 2020, dropping by -5.3% against the previous year. Average prices varied somewhat amongst the major supplying countries. In 2020, the highest prices were recorded for prices from China ($244 per tonne) and Peru ($204 per tonne), while the price for Saudi Arabia ($165 per tonne) and the U.S. ($182 per tonne) were amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Saudi Arabia, while the prices for the other significant suppliers experienced mixed trend patterns.

Source: IndexBox Platform