Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2023-03-31 Origin: Site
The first quarter is the traditional off-season for fluorite, but this year this convention has been broken, and the surge in prices has been staged ahead of schedule. Various signs show that with the recovery of downstream fluorine chemical industry and the release of new energy demand, fluorite is expected to get out of the bright market this year.
This year's price increase starts early
SunSirs data shows that on March 28, the average price of domestic fluorite reached 3037.5 yuan/ton, an increase of 2.32%. On March 25 (Friday) and March 27, the price of fluorite rose by 0.42% and 0.21% respectively.
Those who have been paying attention to fluorine chemical industry for a long time know that this year's domestic fluorite has the characteristics of a high starting point for price increases.
From the point of view of the price increase, the first quarter of each year is the traditional off-season for fluorite, but after entering the second quarter, with the increase in demand for downstream refrigerants, the price of fluorite will rebound. Taking 2022 as an example, last year's fluorite market was weak in the traditional off-season. In the second quarter, due to the increase in demand for downstream refrigerants, fluorite companies generally began to tentatively raise prices from late April.
From the starting point of the price increase, due to the small purchase volume of downstream fluorine chemical enterprises, the first quarter of each year also becomes the low price of fluorite. In March last year, the domestic fluorite price once dropped to 2400-2500 yuan/ton. After several months of slow price increases, the price did not break through 3000 yuan/ton until October last year.
What is different from the past is that 2023 seems to be a good year for fluorite. In the traditional low season of the first quarter, domestic fluorite began to stage three consecutive rises. Moreover, before this price increase, the price of fluorite was still at a high point of 2950 yuan/ton. Therefore, the price of fluorite has just started to rise this year, and the price has already broken through the 3,000 yuan/ton mark.
Refrigerant is an important product in the downstream of fluorite. From 2020 to 2022, due to the quota competition for the third-generation refrigerant, "one ton of production loses one ton, and one loss is three years" has become a true portrayal of the industry. Taking R32 as an example, in the battle for quotas, the price dropped sharply, which directly affected the overall performance of related listed companies.
For example, the net profit of Frioflor Refrigerant in 2019 was 899 million yuan, and the net profit in 2020 dropped to 95 million yuan.
However, after entering 2023, with the end of the third-generation refrigerant quota competition, the long-term sluggish third-generation refrigerant ushered in a return of value.
The reporter of FRIOFLOR company noticed that after the Lunar New Year, the third-generation refrigerant also broke the off-season routine and started the price increase mode. From February 9th to 13th, the third-generation refrigerant mainstream R32 achieved "three consecutive increases", and the price rose from 13,500 yuan/ton to 14,250 yuan/ton, an increase of 5%.
Now, with the opening of the peak demand season in the second quarter, the return of the value of refrigerants has become a consensus in the industry. Based on this, it is not difficult to understand why the price increase of fluorite has also begun to advance this year.
