Both raw material prices and supply pressures have risen over the past year or so. This, in turn, has led major ink manufacturers to announce price increases for their own inks.
[China Packaging network news] Over the past year or so, raw material prices and supply pressures are rising. This, in turn, has led major ink manufacturers to announce price increases for their own inks.
On the supply side, Basf and Sunchem announced increases in pigment prices. Solar Chemical High Performance pigments increased azo pigment prices globally earlier this year, mainly due to the high cost of azo pigment intermediates.
"The cost of azo pigment intermediates and other key raw materials has increased significantly and will continue to do so, impacting the pigments industry," said Chris Weighill, vice president of High performance pigments and global Classic Pigments product manager at Sunchem. "We do not expect these cost increases to abate in the near term, forcing us to raise prices."
By the end of January 2018, BASF had raised the price of pigments, dyes and formulations globally by 15%, citing higher prices for pigment and dye precursors and higher regulatory costs.
A few weeks ago, BASF announced plans to raise the price of Laromer UV resin by 3% to 10% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This trend is driven mainly by the price of raw materials as well as the cost of REACH registration.