Glycerin Price Trend and Forecast

Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Glycerin in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

For the First Half of 2022

Asia

When compared to Q4 of 2021, the price of glycerin increased in the Asian market by about 15% in Q1 of 2022. The Omicron virus outbreak in China increased demand for glycerin in the pharmaceutical industries, requiring manufacturers to speed up production.

Glycerin was priced at 2139 USD/MT CFR Shanghai in January and at 2227 USD/MT CFR Shanghai in March 2022. Due to declining demand and continuous geopolitical crises, glycerin prices plunged in the second quarter of 2022. Glycerin prices abruptly dropped at the start of the first half of Q2 2022 as a result of consistent demand and available supplies in the Asia Pacific area.

Europe

Prices for glycerin in the European market were reported at 2752USD/MT CFR Hamburg in January and averaged around 2835 USD/MT CFR Hamburg toward the end of the first quarter of 2022. In Q2 of 2022, Glycerin prices were seen to rise in the European market, with an average quarterly tendency of 2.6%.

Due to the lack of demand from end-user industries, the offtakes from downstream industries including food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics played a limited influence in the price increase of glycerin. As Q2 2022 came to an end, the price trends for glycerin stabilised as supply and demand on the market remained constant.

North America

In North America, the price of glycerin increased exponentially by 10% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Prices for glycerin in the US market ranged from 2812 USD/MT in January to 2955 USD/MT in March 2022. The price of glycerin overall showed a downward trend during the second quarter of 2022.

Despite the steady demand from the downstream pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries, the cost of glycerin climbed somewhat during the first half of Q2 due to higher feed benzoic acid prices brought on by geopolitical unrest and logistical challenges. The glycerin stabilised towards the end of the second quarter.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trends for glycerin will undergo fluctuations in the coming months, varying widely region-wise. Given the ample inventories in the market and muted market transactions, the prices are likely to plateau and stabilize. The demand from cosmetics and pharmaceuticals is still low, which further supports these lower prices.

For the Fourth Quarter of 2021

Asia

Throughout the fourth quarter of 2021, the market in Asia Pacific remained stable. This shift was largely attributable to the surge in demand from both domestic and international consumers following the discovery of COVID-19's omicron version. The downstream cosmetics and skincare industry's queries outstripped the Southeast Asian producers' capacity.

As a result of the constantly high offers for palm oil in the Asian market, manufacturers were forced to reduce the operational loads in their facilities. As a result of the ripple effect, the quote for glycerin USP 99.5% grade increased by 28% in Q4 2021, and monthly average negotiations FOB Johor (Malaysia) were finalised at 2055 USD/MT in December 2021.

Europe

Despite the continued energy crisis in Europe, the European market remained buoyant in Q4 2021, owing to excessive demand that outstripped domestic production capacity. The high electricity costs pushed many firms to lower their operating rates, which, when combined with the high freight costs, stimulated the domestic suppliers to raise market quotations. Furthermore, the return of COVID boosted demand even more, and in December, CFR Hamburg glycerin prices (USP grade) were finalised at 2635 USD/MT.

North America

Throughout the fourth quarter of 2021, the North American market exhibited a bullish trend. The discovery of a new omicron variation of COVID 19 in the domestic market prompted increased support from the pharmaceutical industry. As a result, prices increased by almost 10% quarter over quarter, and the DEL Midwest (USA) discussion was decided at 2641 USD/MT in the quarter ending December 2021.

For the First, Second, and Third Quarters of 2021

Asia

During the first quarter, supplies in Asia were somewhat balanced, notwithstanding upstream shortages caused by plant turnarounds around the Chinese Lunar New Year vacations. Furthermore, during the Suez Canal blockade in late March, the solvent’s imports were halted. The commissioning of new crackers in China, on the other hand, seemed to bring the situation back into equilibrium. As the downstream pharma sector's offtakes improved, demand soared. Due to rising demand and a global supply shortfall, FOB Shanghai glycerin prices were raised to 1180 USD/MT in March.

Europe

Due to limited biodiesel output in the northwest European region, where multiple refineries were operating at low rates, supplies in the European region were constrained in the first quarter of 2021. Due to the Suez Canal blockage, exports to the Asia-Pacific region were halted in late March.

Although biodiesel output grew in Q2-21, glycerin prices remained high due to increased demand. Low biodiesel output in the region owing to force majeure from BASF and EVONIK for biodiesel catalyst resulted in a price increase in H2-21. High raw material prices and refiners' limited access to crude glycerin worsened the problem.

The upward trend was also reinforced by increased freight charges around the world as a result of a global lack of containers, manpower shortages in major vegetable oil-producing countries, and rising crude oil prices. Prices began the year 2021 at roughly 650-700 EUR/MT in Q1-21, rising to around 1300-1400 EUR/MT in September-October due to rising vegetable oil prices and freight charges.

North America

During the first quarter of 2021, supplies in the North American region were limited. The tightness was due to production interruptions induced by severe freezing weather in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. A big factory in the Bay City site with a production capacity of 120,000 MT/year was forced to shut down due to severe weather. Due to a supply constraint and continual offtakes from downstream sectors, demand soared. OQ chemicals increased feedstock prices, which increased glycerin prices correspondingly, with a quarterly FOB average of 1150 USD/MT in Texas.

For the Year 2020

Asia

During the pandemic, little to no material was supplied from Southeast Asia due to logistical challenges and a lockdown in Malaysia, which led certain oleochemical companies in the country to close. It took at least 40 days for any item to arrive in Europe from Southeast Asia. Although it was just a tiny component of most sanitizer solutions, demand remained high, with a slight increase in interest for usage in sanitizer applications.

Demand spiked in India over the festive season in November, contributing to a significant increase in the currency's value. During the quarter ending in December 2020, the price of refined glycerin in India averaged 880 USD/MT.

In December 2020, Global Green Chemicals (GGC), a prominent refined glycerin manufacturer in Thailand, announced the refined establishment of the solvent’s manufacturing plant. Due to the fact that the biodiesel and oleochemical industries are major contributors to glycerin production, a considerable drop in both industries resulted in its shortage of in Asia.

Europe

Prices for refined vegetable glycerin soared in 2020, owing to a lack of supply as a result of upstream biodiesel production decreases. Biodiesel companies have curtailed, and in some cases totally stopped, output due to a lack of demand for fuels in Europe paired with extremely low to negative profitability.

Some biodiesel producers cut capacity in half, and many plants were shut down for an extended length of time. Supply was further curtailed by an unforeseen outage at a Saipol biodiesel factory in France, which was caused by a fire rather than production restrictions. Average glycerin prices were recorded at 710 EUR/MT in 2020.

North America

Glycerin prices in the United States began to rise later in the year as raw material prices continued to rise. Market was encouraged by increased demand from end-user industries such as personal care and health care.

Prices climbed in the fourth quarter, when WHO announced a formulation for creating glycerin-based hand rub and sanitizers for skin moisturization, raising its demand in the North American market. The pricing trend in the region is expected to be supported by rising Brent crude at least until Q1 2021. Furthermore, a major biodiesel manufacturer in the United States closed its facilities for the entire quarter, reducing its availability on the market.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Glycerin. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.