Water treatment chemicals: Trading
Tenders, service contracts and why prices stay hidden
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
- Local coagulant makers within delivery range
- Polyacrylamide from SNF, Chinese producers and Kemira
- Service programmes from Ecolab, Kurita, Veolia, Solenis
Who sells, and from where
- Municipal utilities by public tender
- Power plants, refineries, paper mills and mines on multi-year service contracts
- Distributors serving small industry
Price benchmarks
| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| none for finished products; acrylonitrile CFR Asia and HCl prices are input benchmarks | ICIS, Argus, Alchempro | spot, weekly |
Contract types
- Annual or multi-year municipal supply tenders priced per tonne of product or active content
- Service programmes priced per month or per unit of water treated, including equipment and monitoring
- Raw-material indexation clauses for coagulants and polymers
Traders and distributors
- Chemical distributors such as Brenntag and Univar (indicative)
How Indian buyers price it
- Municipal bodies and public-sector plants buy alum and PAC by tender against BIS specifications (IS 299 alum; IS 15573 PAC, indicative)
- Polyacrylamide prices track Chinese import parity
- Large industrial users buy service programmes from Ion Exchange, Thermax and global firms
Recent price points
| Date | Price | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Feb 2026 | $1.04/kg acrylonitrile (polymer feedstock) | CFR South Asia | Alchempro via acrylonitrile tile |
| 2025 | not published for coagulants, polymers or programmes | contract prices are private | no public benchmark found |
Good sources to follow
Kemira investor relationsfree research site · Kemira OyjQuarterly volume, price and margin commentary for coagulants and polymers
ChemXplorefree newsletter · ChemXploreChemical company results and deals
Indian Chemical Newsfree newsletter · Indian Chemical NewsIndian and global chemical industry news
Chemical Weeklyfreemium newsletter · Sevak PublicationsIndian chemical prices and industry analysis