Nov 30, 2021
1. Refrigerant Price Surge Leads To Supply Shortage
According to coldchina.com, refrigerants have seen a continuous trend of price increases since the second half of August. As indicated by 100ppi.com, R134a saw a market price of RMB 33,100 (about US$ 5,200) per ton on September 27, rising by 48.51% compared with the price of RMB 22,300 (about US$ 3,500) per ton on September 1, and rising by 61.79% compared with the price on August 16. Other refrigerants such as R125 and R410A have all also seen surging prices since September.
Limited quotas and the Double Control energy consumption policy will continue for some time, leading to lasting increased raw materials prices and tension in production and supply. Under such impacts, it is expected that refrigerants will continue to see higher prices.
Juhua in Quzhou, Zhejiang province has seen production capacity of third generation hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) reach up to 154,200 tons in the first half of the year, and fluoropolymer up to 18,700 tons. Sanmei in Jinhua, Zhejiang province mainly produces third-generation HFCs and the second-generation hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), foaming agents and upstream raw material anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (AHF). The company boasts a production capacity of HCFC-22 up to 14,400 tons, and HCFC-142b 4,200 tons.
Source: eJARN
2. UK : £5,000 Grants Unveiled To Support Home Heat Pump Installation
The UK government set out plans this week to fund the installation of heat pumps in 90,000 homes across the country. The £5,000 (£5,911) grant will allow people to replace their existing gas boiler with a greener, more energy-efficient heat pump.
This is part of a £3.9bn plan include £450m committed towards grants to replace boilers, with a pledge that the fund will mean heat pumps should cost no more than boilers to install or run.
Welcoming the initiative, the Heat Pump Association said it hoped that it would encourage exceptional market growth over the next few years.
Source: eJARN
3. New U.S. China Trade Plan Leaves Industry Hungry For Specifics
Having waited eight months for U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s promised “top-to-bottom” policy review of trade with China, some U.S. industries and experts were complaining over the plan’s lack of specifics on negotiations or timing.
Industries that have suffered through more than three years worth of U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports that cost billions of dollars, were hoping for details on which products might win tariff relief.
The US-China Business Council said it feared tariffs might become permanent, given the lack of any clear road map. The National Foreign Trade Council called for a “robust” tariff exclusion process to provide some relief for companies hammered by the U.S.-China trade war.
“Today’s long-awaited announcement proved the Biden administration’s trade strategy on China to be lackluster at most, and will further inflict unnecessary damage to the American economy and retail supply chains,” said David French, senior vice president of the National Retail Federation.
Source: Reuters
