Acetic acid: Trading
Contracts, assessments and the CFR India import price
What this tab covers How it is bought and sold: buyers and sellers, price benchmarks and who publishes them, exchanges, contract types, traders, how Indian buyers price it, recent price points, and good sources to follow.Who buys, and where
- Indian PTA, ester and anhydride makers (CFR India via Kandla and JNPT)
- VAM producers in Asia, the US and Europe
- Pharma and agrochemical intermediates makers
Who sells, and from where
- Chinese producers FOB east China ports
- Celanese and INEOS from US, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, UK
- GNFC in India
Price benchmarks
| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Acetic acid FOB China | ICIS, S&P Global Platts | spot, weekly |
| Acetic acid CFR India | ICIS, S&P Global Platts | spot, weekly |
| Acetic acid contract US/Europe | ICIS | monthly contract |
Exchanges
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| None | no exchange futures | priced by assessments and contracts |
Contract types
- Annual and quarterly contracts with formula pricing
- Spot cargoes and ISO tanks
- Integrated supply to captive VAM and anhydride
Traders and distributors
- Japanese trading houses (indicative)
- Chinese export traders
How Indian buyers price it
- Import parity off CFR India assessments, plus customs duty and port costs
- GNFC and Hazira bulk quotes act as domestic reference (ALCHEMPro, Mar 2026)
- Domestic prices quoted in Rs/kg ex-tank
Recent price points
| Date | Price | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Mar 2026 | $410/t | CFR India | ALCHEMPro (May 2026) |
| early Apr 2026 | about $700/t | CFR India (peak) | ALCHEMPro (May 2026) |
| early May 2026 | Rs 45/kg | India domestic | ALCHEMPro (May 2026) |
| Jul 2026 | $597.75/t | FOB India | Procurement Resource (2026) |
| Jul 2026 | $469.97/t | FOB China | Procurement Resource (2026) |
| Jul 2026 | $603.60/t | FOB Germany | Procurement Resource (2026) |
Good sources to follow
ALCHEMPro industry articlesfreemium research site · ALCHEMProIndian acetyls and solvent price commentary
Mysteel chemicals newsfreemium research site · Mysteel (with OilChem data)Chinese capacity and prices
Procurement Resource price trendsfreemium research site · Procurement Resourcemonthly acetic acid prices by country
Offshore Technology / GlobalData analyst commentfree research site · GlobalDatacapacity additions by country and project