Polylactic Acid (PLA) Price Trend and Forecast

Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Polylactic Acid (PLA) in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Polylactic Acid Price Trend for the H1 of 2023

Asia

The Asian Polylactic Acid (PLA) market witnessed mixed price trends in the first half of 2023. PLA prices swung mostly on the higher side. Because of lesser carbon emissions and biodegradability, bioplastics are gaining momentum. Stable and high demands were registered from the food and pharma packaging sectors. Moreover, feedstock maize and sugarcane prices are also inclined to add to the upstream costs.

In China, PLA averaged about 2698 USD/MT (CIF, China) in January and increased by approximately 3% to around 2785 USD/MT (CIF, China) in June 2023. The highest average price was recorded in May when the prices reached about 2833 USD/MT (CIF, China).

Europe

Polylactic acid in the European market had an oscillating run in H1 2023. Because of rising global demands, inventories were running low, and rising feedstock prices increased the importing costs for European markets. Price trends observed visible hikes at the beginning of both quarters; however, they remained stable throughout.

North America

American market behaved no differently than other international markets for Polylactic Acid in H1 2023. As demands remained consistent, upstream costs pressure from high feedstock and energy prices kept the market prices anchored. Prices started at around 2485 USD/MT (FOB, USA) in January and to around 2903 USD/MT (FOB, USA) in June’23.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the Polylactic Acid price trends are expected to continue on the same inclined journey, as the demands are consistently rising, and inventories are readily getting vacated. Since production costs are also high, the projections look positive for the Polylactic Acid markets.

Polylactic Acid Price Trend for the H2 of 2022

Asia Pacific

The polylactic acid market was stable in the third quarter of 2022. The region saw a rise in feedstock prices and an increase in the demand from the biodegradable plastics industry which drove the prices of polylactic acid in the region. However, the above trend was not followed in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter followed a downward trajectory as the economic conditions of the market were weak. The increase in restrictions in the economic epicentres of China fluctuated operational costs and declining demand led to the decline in the prices of polylactic acid.

Europe

High natural gas prices, inflation rates, and steady demand from the end-user sectors drove the prices of polylactic acid to the stable range in the European market for the third quarter. This, however, did not continue till the fourth quarter. In Q4, disruptions in supply chains, the threat of economic recession, and port congestion activities negatively affected the price trends for polylactic acid.

North America

The doom of recession also shadowed the North American market. The third quarter saw high demand from the biodegradable plastics industries, but high inflation and delayed supply led to the fluctuation in the price trends of polylactic acid. The price drop was very significant in the fourth quarter as compared to the third. Low employment and high inflation rates led to lower production and a decline in the input and output costs that severely affected the market.

Analyst Insight

The prices of Polylactic acid are estimated to increase in the upcoming quarters. With the limited supply, scarcity of products, and increasing demand from the end sector, the price trend of polylactic acid is expected to increase.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Polylactic Acid. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.