TOKYO, December 12, 2013 _ Ube Industries, Ltd. today announced that it will implement a global price increase for dimethyl carbonate (DMC), effective for shipments on or after January 1, 2014. Ube Industries will commence negotiations with customers regarding the price increase, which is necessitated by the rising price of the main raw material, methanol.
| DMC | Min. US$ 0.1 per kg |
|---|
For shipments on or after January 1, 2014
DMC is one of Ube Industries' core products in the fine chemicals segment, and the company is the sole manufacturer of DMC in Japan. Ube Industries operates its own DMC production facilities in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture with a production capacity of 15,000 tonnes annually.
DMC is used in plastics and in pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals, and lately as an environmentally friendly solvent for paint. In addition, demand for DMC used as an electrolyte solvent for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries is expected to increase sharply, as demand for eco-cars such as hybrid and electric vehicles grows to significant levels.
