Ahmedabad: Gujarat paints Ferrari Red and BMW Blue! No wonder, paint makers around the world are blue.
Spiral raw material costs and working capital constraints have red pigment manufacturers marked to reduce production significantly.
As a result, leading paint producers around the world find it difficult to make some nuances of the hue.
To put things in perspective, an estimated 59% of 1.1 annual tons of global blue pigment supply comes from Gujarat (India section is 82%).
Regardless of the volume, the country is home to a factory that produces pigments supplied to Ferrari and BMW premium car makers.
Indian subsidiaries of multinational manufacturing leading pigments that paint Ferrari Red – Rosso Corsa – and for Indanthrone Blue, dark metallic shade worn by BMW, at the factory in Ankleshwar.
Energy costs provide Blues Pigment makers, pigment producers – small and large – in the state have been forced to reduce production by 25-50% due to a surge in raw material prices, unavailability and capital issues.
Increased costs of energy – coal and crude oil – have pushed the price of raw materials such as phthalic anhydrides, cuprous chloride and urea.
It is used to produce CPC Blue Crude (Copper Phthalocyanine Blue), the main ingredient of the blue pigment, which in turn enters various blue paint nuances.
CPC crude oil prices have increased from Rs 250 A Kg to RS 370-380 A Kg since October last year.
As a result, the price of Alpha Blue Pigment and Beta Blue Pigment has surged 60-70% and 40-50%, respectively, for the past year.
The Alpha Blue Pigment is currently the cost of Rs 600-850 per kg while Beta Blue Pigment is valuable Rs 480-600 per kg, industrial players said.
“High raw material prices have encouraged production costs at least 150%.
In addition, suppliers have revised the terms of payment, forcing pigment makers to pay immediately or in two weeks.
This has eroded working capital,” said Natubhai Patel, Meghmani, Megghmani organic, wrong One leading player in the pigment industry.
“Shrinking work capital has forced pigment makers in the state to reduce the production of blue pigments,” Patel added.
“The price of the main raw material for CPC crude oil has strengthened substantially, which has increased the price of blue pigments,” said Gokul Jaykrishna, CEO and executive director, Asahi Songwon Colors Limited, which is one of the blue manufacturers of CPC and Blue Pigments in India.
Smaller and medium manufacturers feel harder working capital, industrial players said.
Gujarat is home to at least 150 pigment units in Ankleshwar, Dahej, Vapi and Ahmedabad, which produces 70% of Indian production.
The availability of raw materials such as urea and ships for export delivery further reduce the production of blue pigments, according to experts.
Apart from the paint industry, blue pigments are widely used by the ink, plastic and textile industry.
Scenario for pigments such as green, red, yellow and orange same.
China holds a large enough command over their supply.
(With input from the Shastri Parth)