TOKYO, February 7, 2011 _ Ube Industries, Ltd. today announced that it will implement a price increase for diphenol products including catechol and hydroquinone in Japan and overseas, effective for shipments on or after February 14, 2011. This price revision follows an earlier increase in prices implemented on October 1, 2010. Ube Industries will initiate negotiations with its customers regarding the price increase.
Catechol is used as a raw material for products such as fragrances, agrochemicals, and monomer polymerization inhibitors, and demand in all of these applications is flourishing.Hydroquinone is used for polymerization inhibitors such as acrylic acid, as well as photographic chemicals and agrochemicals. Most notably, demand for hydroquinone is growing for applications in polymerization inhibitors.
The decision to increase diphenol product prices is due to ongoing tight supply and demand of diphenol products themselves, leading to the rising price in domestic and overseas markets.
| Products for Japanese market | Increase by 20% |
|---|---|
| Products for Asian market | Increase by 20% |
Shipments on or after February 14, 2011
Ube Industries is the only Japanese manufacturer of catechol, with a total annual production capacity of 10,000 tons of diphenol derivatives as a whole from its production base in Ube City in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
