Yellow Phosphorus Pricing Stagnate in Vietnam, January 2022 Shipments Will Likely Ease

After remaining bullish for nearly two months in a row, Yellow Phosphorous prices are heading towards stability in Vietnam. FOB Haiphong Yellow Phosphorous (99.9% ) prices are currently hovering around $7,500 per MT for the December month. As per market players there is somewhat stagnation in the market prices from the last two months, however there are anticipations that the product pricing may decline in the upcoming months.

The Vietnamese Yellow Phosphorous market has been witnessing bright prospects since Chinese authorities impended production cuts and strict power curtailment measures forced the country’s phosphorus production to reduce to half compared to the last year. In November, the price of Yellow Phosphorus in Vietnam jumped by about 70 per cent since the beginning of this year. Record high prices have been also supported by skyrocketing Chinese coal prices and tight product inventories reported by the Asian buyers.

Vietnam is the world's largest exporter of phosphorus products. The country ranks fourth in the world in terms of its Yellow Phosphorous production capacity (about 87,000 tons as on 2018).  Japan, Korea and Taiwan have been the top three export destinations for Vietnamese Yellow Phosphorous. In 2020, Lao Cai Vietnam's largest phosphorus producing province reported an export value of USD 232 million up by about 16.4% on YoY basis. Đức Giang Chemicals’ (DGC) is the largest producer of yellow phosphorus in the country with an annual capacity of 60 KTPA, as in 2020.

Yellow Phosphorous is widely used for the production of phosphoric acid, various phosphates, petrochemical etc. The chemical widely finds applications in sectors like electronics, fertilizers, semiconductor, flame retardants, etc.