As well as being an important chemical in a number of other industries, Ethanolamines (EOA) compounds are used in the pharmaceutical industry as auxiliaries in the production process of a wide range of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients.
And with immediate effect, BASF customers in Europe will have to pay an extra €150 ($180) for each metric ton of monoethanolamine (MEOA), diethanolamine (DEOA) and triethanolamine (TEOA).
Company spokeswoman Klaus-Peter Rieser told in-Pharmatechnologist.com the price will restore margins to a sustainable level.
“Prices were declining in 2016/2017,” he said, while BASF experiences “increasing feedstock cost and additional logistical cost.”
The price increase applies to current supply agreements as soon as, and to the extent permitted by, the terms and conditions of the customer contracts.
The cost of ethanolamines has continued to rise. In October last year BASF added an extra €100 per tonne across its ethanolamine range. In 2015 the price increased by €55 per tonne, while in 2014 the price increased on the back of continuous demand.
Ethanolamines are made at BASF’s Verbund sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; and Nanjing, China. Ludwigshafen experienced a deadly explosion in 2016 which halted production at 20 facilities at the site.