BIR World Mirror on Plastics - Issue May 2016

International Scenario for the Plastic Scrap Market

Buoyed by rising crude oil prices, the plastic scrap business showed some positive movement in the first quarter of 2016. While crude prices have jumped by more than 70% in the last four months, prices of the different plastic scraps have risen between 10% and 25% in the corresponding period. Crude oil prices climbed from a low of US$ 26 per bbl in the second half of January to US$ 46 by the end of April, fuelling the prices of prime plastics too.

The increases in prime plastics prices boosted demand for reprocessed material in the Asian market. Having been sitting on piles of reprocessed material at the end of 2015, recyclers are now in a position to offload them given the gap between prices of reprocessed material and prime plastic. The movements in reprocessed materials are also making room for new plastic scrap, setting the demand and supply cycle right. The large growth in demand has resulted in increased prices of plastic scrap.

However, in the last week of April, prime plastic prices in Asia fell slightly. Most players were of the opinion that prices had peaked and so buyers hesitated to make purchases at such levels. Nevertheless, the plastic scrap market was not affected owing to stable crude oil prices, except for a minor dip in price for natural LDPE film following the Indian government’s ban on imports of solid plastic waste, including PET bottles (...)

by Surendra Patawari Borad
Gemini Corporation NV (Belgium)
Chairman of the Plastics Committee

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