Brazil. The chemical company Braskem reported that local sales of resins in the first quarter of 2013 totaled 921,000 tons, for a growth of 8.8% compared to the same period last year.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, the volume of commercialization had an increase of 6.2%. The petrochemical numbers were higher than the average of the Brazilian market, where demand amounted to 1.3 million tons between January and March. The amount was 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2012 and 5% higher than the first quarter of last year. Thus, Braskem's market share increased by one percentage point and reached 71% in the quarter.
The polyolefin market, represented by polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), demanded 994,000 tons in the quarter, for an increase of 3% in the last three months of 2012 and 4% over the first quarter of last year. Braskem's sales in this segment, meanwhile, amounted to 754,000 tonnes (market share of 76%), an increase of 4% over the fourth quarter of 2012 and 5% from the first quarter of last year.
The company indicated that to meet the growing domestic demand for resins, it operated in the quarter with higher installed capacity utilization rates and a lower volume of exported resins.
