On July 29,
2019, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China issued an official
announcement, deciding to conduct an anti-dumping investigation on imports of
m-cresol (customs code 29071211) originating from the United States, the
European Union, and Japan.
It is
reported that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce received an application from Anhui
Haihua Chemical Technoloy Co.,Ltd. on June 20, 2019, where an anti-dumping
investigation on m-cresol imports from the USA, EU, and Japan was claimed to
make. The application was accepted and the case is under investigation.
The news
sparked a lot of concerns in related industries. On July 29, Zhejiang Medicine
Co., Ltd. expressed on an interactive platform called “Quanjing Network” that
the company has been paying close attention to the case and has taken some
positive measures accordingly against the impact that the case exerts to the
company somehow. At present, the company's m-cresol is mainly purchased from
domestic sources and partially imported from abroad. Hence, there is no problem
to meet the production needs. However, m-cresol is normally in short supply in
the market. Provided that its prices increase, the production costs of vitamin
E in the company will be affected certainly but only to a low extent.
M-cresol, regarded as an important fine
chemical, plays a vital role in vitamin E industry
M-cresol
normally emerges as a colourless liquid or a pale yellow liquid at room
temperature. As a combustible chemical, the odorous liquid is slightly soluble
in water but completely soluble in ethanol, diethyl ether and sodium hydroxide.
Considered
as an important fine chemical, m-cresol can be utilized to produce vitamin E, fenitrothion,
fenthion, permethrin, antioxidant CA, dye DPA, resin plasticizer, photographic
developer, thymol, and menthol. What’s more, m-cresol is widely used in the
fields of medicine, pesticide, antioxygen, dye, perfume, fungicide and
antimold.
The
chemical especially plays a vital role in the vitamin industry as it is the main
raw material for the production of the key intermediate in vitamin E. According
to official statistics, the annual demand of m-cresol for producing vitamin E
in China gets to about 12,000 tons, among which around 50% comes from imports and
the rest is sourced from domestic producers.
China, as a main producer and supplier of fine
chemical intermediates in the world, sees a bright future in the related
industries
China is
considered as a major manufacturer and supplier of fine chemical intermediates for
worldwide markets. The fine chemical intermediates industry in China is believed
to carry a wide prospect in its development.
Apart from M-cresol,
intermediates including 1, 2, 4 – trichlorobenzene, o-cresol, catechol, and nonylphenol
are the most important pesticide intermediates in the market. 1, 2, 4 – trichlorobenzene
serves a main element during the production of pesticides like dicamba,
sulphenone, sodium pentachlorphenate as well as pentachlorophenol. O-cresol is
mostly used to synthetize highly effective herbicides. Catechol is a
significant intermediate for new carbamate pesticides with low toxicity and
high efficiency, such as carbofuran, propoxur and diethofencarb. Nonylphenol is
actually a multipurpose nonionic surfactant that can be widely used for pesticide
emulsifier. M-cresol is mainly utilized in the synthesis of pesticides and
insecticides.
For the
sake of the development and application of its down-stream products, 1, 2, 4 – trichlorobenzene
has been in great demand over the world in recent years. Besides, Due to the
restriction of the pesticide, Lindane, in developed countries and regions, the
raw material of trichlorobenzene and the production of organochlorine products
have been gradually reduced. All these facts lead to a tight supply of trichlorobenzene,
especially 1, 2, 4 – trichlorobenzene, which instead provides an opportunity
for the development of 1, 2, 4 – trichlorobenzene in China.
What’s more,
new carbamate insecticides made from catechol such as carbofuran, propoxur and
diethofencarb are recommended as the excellent insecticides against family
pests and stored product insects by the World Health Organisation. Hence, the
demand for catechol is also increasing.
Nonylphenol
is regarded as the most important intermediate in the petrochemical industry
and the organic synthesis industry, which keeps the chemical in sustainable
demand.
As for the
market demand of M-cresol, its rate of growth averages 8% to 10% per year,
which points out a stable development of the chemical.
For more
information about China’s vitamins market, please have a look at our monthly
newsletter Vitamins
China E-News.