China price

Because the United States does not use the metric system, prices in California and Arizona are normally quoted in dollars per short ton of (2000 lb, 907.185 kg) and in the Great Plains and mountain states most transactions are fixed in cents per pound (453.59 g). In the rest of the world, metric tons or quintals prevail, except in some parts of India and China. Prices paid to farmers in various parts of the United States vary because of quality and distance from final markets. 

However, in China the rules on differentiation and pricing are not quite as clean as they are in more developed markets. The term The China Price has become famous and refers to the relentless downward pressure on pricing from buyers. We have seen situations where the price was less than the Western company s cost of production, making it impossible to capture the business. The Chinese side always holds out the prospect of huge sales downstream if only you can meet the China Price. It is tempting to take the bait, but there are no guarantees that it will work. 

There are two key reasons for the China Price. One is simply that it is a gigantic buyers market. Of course, when the global supply of commodities is strained by Chinese consumption, the price is actually driven up, as we well know. However, for many products, the China Price is simply the result of the buyers ability to play competitors against each other. 

The market entry challenge. Despite the fantastic growth and opportunities, access to and positioning in the Chinese market is very difficult. The buyer s markets, the China Price, the preference for local suppliers, guanxi, all make it a tough place to carve out market share. 

Sodium Hydroxide. Before World War 1, nearly all sodium hydroxide [1310-93-2], NaOH, was produced by the reaction of soda ash and lime. The subsequent rapid development of electrolytic production processes, resulting from growing demand for chlorine, effectively shut down the old lime—soda plants except in Eastern Europe, the USSR, India, and China. Recent changes in chlorine consumption have reduced demand, putting pressure on the price and availabiHty of caustic soda (NaOH). Because this trend is expected to continue, there is renewed interest in the lime—soda production process. EMC operates a 50,000 t/yr caustic soda plant that uses this technology at Green River it came onstream in mid-1990. Other U.S. soda ash producers have aimounced plans to constmct similar plants (1,5). 

The price differential at which coal becomes competitive with gas depends on plant size and the cost of capital, but based on estimates by the International Energy Agency (21) the required price ratio for gas to coal in North America falls into the range of 3.1 to 3.7 on an equivalent energy basis ( /MJ). Current prices give a gas/coal cost ratio nearer 1.5 to 2.0. As a result, all projected new methanol capacity is based on natural gas or heavy oil except for the proposed coal-based plant in China. 

GaUium prices, stable up to 1991, fluctuated in 1992 because of gallium from China and Eastern European Bloc countries. The market destablized owing to spot offers and dumping. The reHabUity of these products was a real problem, however, and the consequence of market variations was dramatic for small manufacturers. 

Rosin and its derivatives are economically the most important natural resins. Approximately 1150 x 10 metric tons of these materials are produced annually and sold throughout the world. The principal producers are the People s RepubHc of China (ca 40%) and the United States (ca 25%), followed by Russia. Most of the remainder is produced in Indonesia, Portugal, Finland, India, Bra2il, and Mexico. In 1996, the lowest grades of rosin were priced at 750/t. Most rosin is converted to its many derivatives to meet requirements for industrial appHcations. The principal producers of rosin derivatives are Ari2ona Chemical Company, Hercules Incorporated, Westvaco, Union Camp, and Georgia-Pacific. 

Average prices of the principal U.S. oilseeds and derived products for 1990—1994 are summarized in Table 9. The United States is the principal producer of soybeans China is the largest grower of cottonseed and peanuts Argentina leads in the production of sunflower seed (Table 10). 

The 1995 price of natural menthol, which varies considerably according to source and availability, was 19.80/kg from China, 8.00/kg from India, and 19.25/kg from Singapore (69). 

Camphor Manufacture. Camphor is obtained both naturally and synthetically. Natural camphor is obtained from the wood of the camphor tree, Cinnamormum camphora which grows ia China and Japan. The camphor is isolated by combination of steam distillation, filtration, distillation, and sublimation (169). Natural camphor is the (+)-camphor, whereas synthetic camphor is racemic both products are recognized by the USP. In 1995, the price of synthetic camphor was 7.15/kg (45). In 1992—1993, the total production of synthetic camphor ia India was 3800 t, which is estimated to be about 40% of the world consumption (170). The largest single use (80%) of camphor is for religious purposes ia Asian countries. 

Gitronellal Manufacture. Natural sources of citroneUal are citroneUa oil and Eucalyptus citridora. In 1995 the price of citroneUa oil from Java and China was 18.90/kg and the price of citroneUal ia 25-lb cans was 15.40— 23.10/kg (69). 

Vitamin A is manufactured by Hoffmaim-La Roche (Switzerland), BASF (Germany), and Rhc ne-Poulenc (France), as well as by some smaller suppliers in India, China, and Russia. The worldwide production is estimated to be 2500 to 3000 metric tons. About three-quarters of this production is for animal feed the remainder is for food fortification and pharmaceuticals (qv). The main trade names of feed products are Rovimix, Lutavit, and Microvit. Prices depend on appHcation forms and are approximately 60— 70/10 lU retinol (1995) ie, 200— 233/10 RE. One lU is equivalent to 0.300 )lg of aH-Zra/ j -retinol and 1 RE is equivalent to 1 ) g of all-retinol. 

The demand for arsenic metal is limited. The 1990 U.S. requirement for metallic arsenic was supphed by the People s Repubhc of China. Arsenic was formerly supphed domestically (1974—1986) by ASARCO Inc., which dismantled its operation because of economic and environmental pressures, and by imports from Bohden Metah, Sweden, which suspended production in late 1987 because of the low price offered by China. 

Commercial arsenic metal is sold at a typical purity of 99% in fragment or lump (5 —7.5 cm) form. Shipments of arsenic metal from China were sporadic, and also temporarily suspended, in 1989. The metal is not sold on a pubhshed price basis and can vary with each shipment. Shipments in early 1990 had leveled to an estimated price of about 2.20/kg. 

Bismuth is referred to as a minor metal. It is not generally mined for its own intrinsic value, rather it is mined primarily as a by-product of lead or copper ores. In China, however, bismuth can be found ia tungsten ores. In BoHvia the metal has been mined for its own value, but this has not happened on a consistent basis over the years because fluctuations ia the bismuth price have at times made it uneconomical to recover. 

U.S. imports of calcium metals fluctuate greatiy. Since the mid-1980s, the avadabiHty of very low priced calcium metal from China and the CIS has led to substantial reductions in calcium production by Western producers. This has been compensated to a certain extent by an increase in sales of processed materials, ie, alloys and particulates, by the Western companies. In 1991, more than 700 tons of calcium metal were imported to the United States from the People s RepubHc of China. Significant quantities of calcium alloys and particulates have also been imported from France and Canada. 

Excluding Eastern European countries and China where production figures have not been pubHshed, the world production capacity of activated carbon was estimated to be 375,000 metric tons in 1990 (35). The price of most products was 0.70 to 5.50 /kg, but some specialty carbons were more expensive (36). Eorty percent of the production capacity was in the United States, 30% in Western Europe, 20% in Japan, and 10% in other Pacific Rim countries (Table 2). 

Wholesale prices for No. 1 castor oil in tank car lots was l.ll/kg in 1990 compared to 1.60/kg in 1984 and 0.74/kg in 1986 (65). Brazil, China, and India accounted for about 85% of the world exports, and France, the United States, Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom accounted for about 75% of the world imports from 1986—1989. 

There is a world shortage of natural graphite which is particularly marked in North America and Europe. As a result, prices have risen steeply they vary widely in the range 500-1500 per tonne (1989) depending on crystalline quality amorphous graphite is 220-440 per tonne. The annual world production of 649 ktonnes was distributed as follows in 1988 China 200kt, South Korea 108, the former Soviet Union 84, India 52, Mexico 42, Brazil 32, North Korea 25, Czechoslovakia 25, Others 81 kt. 

W orld annual production of bismuth and its compounds has hovered around 4000 tonnes of contained Bi for many years and a similar amount of secondary (refinery) Bi is also produced. Production has been dominated by China, Japan, Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Canada, USA and Australia which, between them, account for almost of all supplies. Prices tor die free element have fluctuated wildly since the 1970s, from < 4 (Xl/kg to > 44.00/kg at die end of 1990 it was 6.30/kg Consumption of the metal and its compounds has also been unusual, usage in the USA dropping by a factor of 2 from 1973 to 1975, for example. The mam uses are in pharmaceuticals, fusible alloys (including type metal, p. 547), and metallurgical additives. 

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