Business data
On April 10th, our company was invited to attend the meeting of epichlorohydrin and glycerol industry, which attracted hundreds of domestic and foreign manufacturers, trading companies, warehousing finance and other third-party enterprises.
The industrial chain structure of glycerol industry is mainly composed of refined glycerol from biodiesel plant and hydrolyzed glycerol from hydrolysis plant, and its downstream applications cover epichlorohydrin (accounting for 71% and increasing year by year), medicines/cosmetics and food additives.
In terms of supply and demand pattern, more than 97% of glycerol in China is imported, and the global demand continues to expand. In 2024, the import volume reached 4.1 million tons, and the compound growth rate is expected to reach 5%-7% in 2025. The global glycerol market dynamics in 2024 show that the biodiesel production in Europe decreased by 6% due to the reduction of rapeseed production, but the demand for home care and refrigerants increased by 3% (about 36,000 tons), and the EUDR policy promoted a surge in short-term purchases, which may slow down in 2025; North America is limited by the second generation biodiesel technology (the output is reduced by 4%), but the demand for polyether polyols is increased by 6% (about 60,000 tons). The US tariff policy may prompt North America to increase the import of glycerol from Southeast Asia. South America and Southeast Asia accounted for 38% of China's imports (+6% compared with 2023), and the output in the fourth quarter increased by 10% from the previous quarter. However, the supply of crude/refined glycerol in Southeast Asia was tight, and the price fluctuated significantly. The core driving factors included the biodiesel policy to promote the global output increase (the blending ratio of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil increased) and the expansion of epichlorohydrin capacity in China to drive the demand for glycerol.
This year, our company will continue to maintain diversified procurement, continue to pay attention to emerging supply markets in Southeast Asia and South America, strengthen risk pre-judgment ability, and achieve a win-win situation for both enterprises and customers.