Brazil’s Braskem still facing logistical woes at Triunfo facilities

RIO DE JANEIRO (ICIS)–Brazil’s polymers major
Braskem is still facing some logistical
challenges at its facilities in Triunfo, in the
floods-hit state of Rio Grande do Sul,
according to a letter to customers seen by
ICIS.

Braskem was forced to shut down its Triunfo
facilities after the severe flooding which
affected the state in May.

By the beginning of June, the producer said it
hoped its operations would return to normality
in a few days, according to a spokesperson in a
written response to
ICIS.

However, according to the letter to customers,
dated 28 June, Braskem’s operations at Triunfo
are yet to return to normality, mostly due to
logistical woes as many roads and key port
operations at the Brazilian state were hit by
the aftermath of the floods.

“Specific challenges resulting from force
majeure still persist in some logistics modes,
leading to the partial receipt of inputs for
the production of products derived from ethanol
and green ethylene,” said the letter.

“At the moment, there is no risk of
interruption in the supply of these products,
and we are implementing alternatives to return
availability to normal levels.”

At the end of June, an analyst said
to ICIS most of the roads in Rio do Grande
do Sul had reopened, although some of them were
operating at reduced capacity.

The Port of Porto Alegre, the largest city in
the state and close to the Triunfo
petrochemicals hub, only reopened in mid-June.

TRIUNFO KEY FOR PLASTICS
Braskem is Brazil’s sole manufacturer of
polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), the
most widely used polymers. Its market share in
2023 for PE stood at 56% and for PP at 70%,
according to figures from the ICIS Supply &
Demand database.

The Triunfo complex, meanwhile, is key for the
country’s polymers supply chain, accounting for
nearly 37% of Brazil’s PP capacity and 40% of
PE capacity.

Brazil’s total PP production capacity is nearly
2 million tonnes/year. PE capacity is about 3
million tonnes/year, with 41% being
high-density polyethylene (HDPE), 33% being
linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and 26%
being low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

Braskem’s Triunfo complex can produce 740,000
tonnes/year of PP, 550,000 tonnes/year of HDPE,
385,000 tonnes/year of LDPE and 300,000
tonnes/year of LLDPE.

Additional reporting by Jonathan
Lopez