# Water treatment chemicals: Trading

Tenders, service contracts and why prices stay hidden

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/trading/

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 relations](https://www.kemira.com/investors/)free research site · Kemira Oyj

Quarterly volume, price and margin commentary for coagulants and polymers
[ChemXplore](https://chemxplore.com/news/kemira-financial-statement-2025)free newsletter · ChemXplore

Chemical company results and deals
[Indian Chemical News](https://www.indianchemicalnews.com)free newsletter · Indian Chemical News

Indian and global chemical industry news
[Chemical Weekly](https://www.chemicalweekly.com)freemium newsletter · Sevak Publications

Indian chemical prices and industry analysis

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/cycles/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/links/index.md)