Reliable supply of raw materials continues to be a concern for masterbatch producers. Because of the present production stoppages in China for precursors, certain colourants are becoming rather short, says Masterbatch Verband, Germany’s association of masterbatch producers that is a part of the Verband der Mineralfarbenindustrie (Frankfurt; www.vdmi.de).

Highly lightfast colourants (resistant to photodegradation) are often based on anthraquinone or similar precursors. Production of these intermediates for colourant synthesis has been shifted in the last few years from Europe to Asia. The German masterbatch association sees the reason for the current delivery bottleneck as being the more stringent environmental regulations since May 2018, which have led to production stoppages at several Chinese chemical parks. According to colourant producers, around 300 firms are affected, and the authorities do not make any distinction as to whether a company is involved in violations of the law or not.

The masterbatch sector therefore finds itself with shorter supply of brilliant yellow, orange, red and green dyes. Particularly hard hit are masterbatches for colouring synthetic fibres, packaging and engineering plastics. Due to a lack of European production capacities, members of the German masterbatch association do not expect availability of the above-mentioned colourants to return to normal in the short-term period. What is worrying is the dependence of their supplier industry on globally distributed supply chains. As a result, they have no scope of their own to take action should unexpected events occur.

The Masterbatch Verband was founded in 1998 and has over 20 members. Verband der Mineralfarbenindustrie also represents producers of pigments and fillers, food colourants, ceramic colours, artists colours and applied photocatalysis.