“The surface material is gone, it’s on the N95; the leak-proof partition is gone, it’s on the flat mask; the bottom film is gone, it’s on the protective suit…”
Information picture, photo provided by Xinhua News Agency
Confessions of a diaper …
“We can’t buy non-woven fabrics, and this inventory is only enough for a few days.” A domestic wet wipes manufacturer revealed to reporters that due to lack of raw materials, some of their production lines have been shut down. It is in a state of semi-stop production. If raw materials can no longer be purchased, the entire factory will have to stop production.
At around 3 p.m., a reporter from Upstream News·Chongqing Commercial Daily saw in the wet wipes factory that one of its production lines had suspended production. Previously, the production line ran 24 hours a day.
Affected by the epidemic, the price of non-woven fabrics continues to rise. Melt-blown fabrics have increased more than 20 times in 2 months, spunbond fabrics have increased up to more than ten times, and hot-air fabrics have also increased. It has increased eight times…
Demand has soared, and the price of non-woven fabrics has soared 29 times in one month and there is still no stock
Non-woven fabric, also known as non-woven fabric, is composed of directional or random fibers. It is called cloth because it has the appearance and certain properties of cloth. Its manufacturing itself has many production processes, including spunbonding. Method, melt blown method, spunlace method.
Affected by the epidemic, the demand for masks and other anti-epidemic supplies has increased significantly. As the core of masks, melt-blown non-woven fabrics that intercept bacteria and droplets first experienced a surge in prices. Before the epidemic, the price of melt-blown non-woven fabrics was around 20,000 yuan per ton. In February 2020, the price soared to 80,000 yuan/ton. In March, the price of melt-blown non-woven fabrics exceeded 500,000 yuan/ton, an increase of 29 times. In April, affected by the international epidemic, meltblown non-woven fabrics ushered in a second round of surge.
Because the inner and outer layers of masks require spunbond non-woven fabrics, the price of spunbond non-woven fabrics has also been rising, and some merchants have placed orders for two months.
On April 21, a reporter from Upstream News·Chongqing Commercial Daily called Yunnan Nanyu Nonwoven Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Staff said that due to market changes, prices have increased. The spunbond non-woven fabric used for masks is currently 80,000 yuan/ton.
Not only has the price increased, but the goods are also unavailable. The reporter called a number of non-woven fabric manufacturers in Shandong, Guangzhou and Zhejiang, and most of them replied: “Non-woven fabrics for masks are out of stock!”
Chongqing Zhongtuo Non-woven Fabrics The non-woven fabrics produced by the company can be used to make masks. The company said that it has not received orders for many days, and the orders for spunbond non-woven fabrics currently in hand have been scheduled until May.
Manufacturers of diapers and wet wipes have been affected, and some businesses are facing suspension of production
The problem of insufficient supply of non-woven fabrics also affects diaper and wet wipes companies.
“The price has increased and you can’t buy it.” A diaper manufacturer in Hebei estimates: “About half of the diaper factories in the industry have stopped production or are about to stop production.”
Starting from the end of March, the price of spunlace non-woven fabrics also began to rise.
“Spunlaced non-woven fabrics cost more than 10,000 yuan per ton at the end of March. Now they cost more than 30,000 yuan per ton, and they are still unavailable.” The relevant person in charge of a domestic wet wipes factory told reporters , they have cooperated with non-woven fabric manufacturers for many years, and have never encountered a situation before where they could not get the goods despite paying full price.
Today, the wet wipes factory’s daily sales orders are still large, but there is a shortage of fabric raw materials, and some production lines have been semi-stopped. The wet wipes factory said that if they can no longer sell non-woven fabrics, they will have to stop production in May.
It is understood that the non-woven materials required for diapers and wet wipes are not the same as those required for masks. Why are these types of non-woven materials also facing shortages?
Industry insiders told reporters that the SMS non-woven fabric used in diapers is a composite non-woven fabric, which is composed of spunbond non-woven fabric + melt-blown non-woven fabric + spunbond non-woven fabric. Made of hot-rolled fiber mesh, thin SMS products are suitable for sanitary napkins, diapers, etc., while medium-thick SMS products can be used for disposable protective clothing, etc.
In addition, because the equipment for producing non-woven fabrics for diapers has been slightly modified to produce non-woven materials for masks, some companies have switched production, further leading to a shortage of non-woven materials for diapers.
“The production change may also affect spunlaced non-woven fabrics.” Man Rongrong, an analyst at Business Society, said that the mask industry Spunbond non-woven fabrics and melt-blown non-woven fabrics are more expensive. Non-woven fabric manufacturers can also modify their production lines to produce the materials needed for masks.
Zhejiang Tiantai County Yongzhu Filter Cloth Co., Ltd. revealed that many local companies producing spunlace non-woven fabrics have switched to producing non-woven fabrics required for masks.
Are diapers and wet wipes likely to increase in price? Some parents have started to stock up.
The price increase and shortage of raw materials for diapers and wet wipes mean there will be a price increase?
“The discounts on diapers are not as high as before.” Ms. Qin, a consumer, said that the Xiaolu Dingding diapers she bought in size L used to be discounted by 199 and 50 off, but last week they were 125. 25 off, it seems like there is no discount today. “Fortunately, I bought several large boxes of diapers before,” she said.
In Ms. Qin’s group of mothers, some mothers have long called for stocking up on diapers. A mother said, “I have seen the news for a long time…The price of non-wet raw materials has increased, and we have started to prepare for it a long time ago. ”
Recently, reporters visited the market and found that there is currently no price increase for diaper brands on the market. However, the reporter found that in some supermarkets in Wuli Store, some brands of diapers Out of stock. “It’s temporarily sold out and should be replenished soon. ” Supermarket staff revealed.
Chongqing Yonghui Supermarket told reporters that there is currently no price increase for wet wipes and diapers, and there is a certain amount of inventory.
As for whether prices will increase in the future, Yonghui Supermarket said, “Suppliers need to decide based on market assessment. ”
“Currently everyone has inventory, but when the inventory is sold out, the price may increase. “A large maternal and child chain store who wished to remain anonymous said.
The upstream market is beginning to return to rationality
Polypropylene is needed to make masks, and polypropylene is also needed for the surface wrapping layer of diapers. The demand has driven the price of polypropylene to skyrocket. Previously, the market price of polypropylene was more than 6,000 yuan/ton, and it has recently risen to more than 13,000 yuan. / ton, and for a while it rose to more than 30,000 yuan / ton.
“Polypropylene fiber material is needed to make masks, but due to demand and excessive hype, all polypropylene fiber materials Acrylic materials increased indiscriminately. Man Rongrong, an analyst at Business Club, said that with the vigorous efforts by relevant departments to rectify the market and the industry’s popularization of polypropylene materials for masks, the polypropylene market has gradually returned to rationality.
Among them, the price of polypropylene wire drawing has been adjusted back since last Friday, which may be a signal that the market is returning to rationality. Man Rongrong said that the current ex-factory price of polypropylene fiber materials for masks is temporarily stable, and the current demand is acceptable. “The entire polypropylene market The hype atmosphere is gradually weakening, and the general price law of supply and demand is gradually returning. “
Driving up the price of melt-blown mask cloth? Investigate strictly! These tasks will be carried out
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On the afternoon of March 12, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council held a press conference to introduce the strengthening of market supervision and risk investigation. At the meeting, Chen Zhijiang, a first-level inspector of the Price Supervision and Competition Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation, introduced that recently, The problem of the price of meltblown cloth rising too high and too fast does exist. As the production capacity of masks continues to increase, the output of meltblown cloth has not kept up in time, causing a certain contradiction between supply and demand. Some unscrupulous operators took the opportunity to drive up prices and disrupt market order. In this regard, The market supervision department attaches great importance to it and takes quick action to resolutely cut off the interest chain that disrupts the market order. It mainly carries out its work in the following aspects:
First, deploy a special investigation. March 5 , the State Administration for Market Regulation issued an emergency notice on carrying out a special investigation on the price of melt-blown cloth, deployed eight provinces including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan and Shandong to carry out special investigations on melt-blown cloth, concentrated efforts to prioritize the handling of complaints and reports on the price of melt-blown cloth, and investigated suspected cases of melt-blown cloth. Those who break the law will be investigated and dealt with resolutely.
Second, organize special case investigation. Allocate capable forces, organize two special teams, and jointly investigate and handle relevant cases with the public security department. Two clues have been found. , investigated five cases from two clues and exposed them publicly. Actively communicate and negotiate with relevant departments and relevant industry associations, and conduct market surveys in key provinces.</p
