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Article: Sodium Sulfate in the Doldrums As Producers See Little Relief.
- Article from:
- Chemical Market Reporter
- Article date:
- January 18, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Schnell Publishing Company, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE PROLONGED EFFECTS of the Asian economic crisis and dwindling demand from the US textile industry, which historically represents 15 percent of consumption, continue to plague the sodium sulfate industry. Yet producers expect prices to remain stable or fall only slightly.
One producer estimates that 30,000 tons of sodium sulfate demand from the textile industry was lost last year. The textile industry's downturn is blamed on increased imports from Europe and the Far East, coupled with an exodus of US textile manufacturers to the Caribbean, Asia and other areas that offer cheap labor.
"It's a combination of things: mills closing, [manufacture] moving ...