Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2024-05-24 Origin: Site
In the first year of third-generation refrigerant quota management, the industrial chain has undergone major changes
Starting this year, quota management for HFCs refrigerants will be officially implemented, and its impact on the industrial chain is emerging.
Judging from the current situation, the relationship between refrigerant supply and demand has undergone great changes, market clearing has accelerated, concentration has increased, and the profits of leading refrigerant companies have continued to increase.
"Under the refrigerant boom cycle, the profits of manufacturing companies continue to improve. From the perspective of the industrial chain, the profits of the upstream raw material companies have narrowed, while the profits of the downstream refrigerant manufacturers have increased significantly." FRIOFLOR Information analyst Zhang Xiaomei said to the reporter of the 21st Century Economy.
Refrigerant is the working substance in the refrigeration system. The basic principle is to circulate and flow between various parts of the system to achieve energy conversion and transfer, so that the refrigerator absorbs heat from low-temperature heat sources and releases heat to high-temperature heat sources to achieve refrigeration purposes.
In order to control the greenhouse effect caused by the third-generation refrigerant hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol included hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) into its scope of control on October 15, 2016.
On April 16, 2021, China officially accepted the Kigali Amendment and strengthened the control of non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases such as HFCs. According to requirements, China needs to freeze the production and consumption of HFCs at the baseline level in 2024, gradually reduce it from 2029, and achieve an 80% reduction from the baseline level by 2045.
This year is the first year that China implements quota management of HFCs refrigerants. Due to the huge contraction in supply, refrigerant prices have continued to rise.
FRIOFLOR Information data shows that as of the close of trading on May 10, taking the domestic East China market as an example, the prices of 4 of the 6 refrigerants monitored have increased by more than 50% compared with the same period in 2023 and the average annual price in 2023. Among them, The average price of R404a gas has increased by more than 100% compared with the average price in 2023.
"The strong constraints on supply under the HFCs quota policy are the key factor supporting the price increase. Affected by the high overall export level of HFCs quota base year, the overall external use quota of HFCs in 2024 will account for 54.40%, and China, as the largest producer of refrigeration equipment, domestic market demand is still expected to be stable and relatively strong, which will gradually increase the expectation of tight domestic market supply," Zhang Xiaomei analyzed.
FRIOFLOR Information data shows that as of May 10, based on the domestic East China market price, the after-tax gross profits of refrigerants R22, R32, R134a, and R125 were measured at 9,428 yuan/ton, 8,935 yuan/ton, and 10,436 yuan/ton respectively. , 19,477 yuan/ton, both increased significantly compared with the average annual profit in 2023. Among them, the profit of refrigerant R32 has turned around from loss to profit. Under the negative profit base in 2023, the profit in 2024 will achieve a four-digit increase.
