Showa Denko raising chloroprene rubber prices

Tokyo – Showa Denko is raising the prices of its chloroprene rubber, effective from 16 May, the company announced 27 April.

The price adjustment will be by “Yen60/kg or more”, which is equivalent to $470/tonne or more for US-dollar-based transactions and €440/tonne or more for euro-based transactions, the supplier said.

Marketed under trade name of Showa Denko Chloroprene, the synthetic rubber material has features such as oil resistance, thermal resistance, weather resistance, and incombustibility.

Showa Denko Chloroprene’s fluid latex products are used for applications including medical instruments, adhesives, and waterproofing agents.

Solid dry-tip products are used for automotive parts, construction and industrial applications.

Explaining the reason behind the price hike, the Japanese supplier said business environment for its chloroprene rubber was “severe” due to a substantial rise in prices of raw materials and electricity charges caused by surging fuel prices.

“SDK has been making effort to reduce production costs of chloroprene through streamlining of production process.

“This time, however, we concluded that the company needs to raise prices of chloroprene in order to ensure stable supply of our products,” it concluded.