July 9, 2008

BASF raises prices for propionic acid for the second time in two months

BASF is set to increase prices for its propionic acid and mixtures based on propionic acid two months after it announced its first price increase for the product in 2008.

The company cited unprecedented increases in the cost of raw materials, energy and transportation as the main reasons for the price increase.

Prices in Europe would be raised by EUR80 per tonne and prices in the NAFTA and Asian regions would be raised US$130 percent tonne.

Prices for its carboxylic acid were also raised in June.

The company last year announced plans to increase propionic acid production capacity by 30,000 tonnes in its plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany and by 9,000 tonnes in its plant in Nanjing, China. Once both projects are completed in mid-2009, the company would have annual propionic acid production capacity of 149,000 tonnes.

BASF markets propionic-acid-based pre-servatives under the trade names Lupro-Grain and Luprosil.