Asian Metal visits Guangxi Quanzhou County Yongxiang Ferroalloys Co., Ltd., Longda Ferroalloys Plant, Liansheng Ferroalloys Co., Ltd., Longhua Ferroalloys Co., Ltd., Dongfeng Metallurgy Co., Ltd., Dongda Ferroalloys Co., Ltd. and Fengyuan Ferroalloys Co., Ltd.

On November 8-9, Bata Chen, associate analyst of manganese alloys and ores of Asian Metal, visited Quanzhou County Yongxiang Ferroalloys Co., Ltd., Quanzhou County Longda Ferroalloys Plant, Quanzhou County Liansheng Ferroalloys Co., Ltd., Quanzhou County Longhua Ferroalloys Co., Ltd., Quanzhou County Dongda Ferroalloys Co., Ltd., Quanzhou County Dongfeng Metallurgy Co., Ltd., and Quanzhou County Fengyuan Ferroalloys Co., Ltd., seven producers of silicomanganese in Guangxi. Bata Chen discussed the weak manganese alloys market and future trend with the officials of those companies deeply.

On the morning of November 8, Bata Chen visited Quanzhou County Yongxiang Ferroalloys Co.. The company has one furnace of 4,000KVA for producing silicomanganese 60/14 and has halted production since over two months ago owing to the sluggish market. It is learnt that the power charge has increased by about RMB0.11/kwh since October in the local area, and meanwhile, the prices of the imported manganese ore increased slightly, so the production cost increased by RMB400-500/t. The company still has 600-700t of stocks now and does not plan to sell at below RMB5,700/t ex works VAT excluded. The company will not resume production for the rest of the year as they are pessimistic about the market trend.

On the afternoon of November 8, Bata Chen visited Quanzhou County Longda Ferroalloys Plant. The company has one furnace of 25,000KVA which is in operation currently for producing silicomanganese 60/14 and has more than 2,000t of stocks now. They intend to conclude deals at over RMB5,700/t ex works VAT excluded now. They also disclose that they mainly supply the material to several steel mills and are executing the long-term orders currently.

Then, Bata Chen visited Quanzhou County Liansheng Ferroalloys Co., Ltd.. Zenghua Jiang, the CEO of the company and Xiaoli Jiang, the GM of the company introduced the situation of the company. The company has one furnace of 12,500KVA with an output of 2,000-3,000tpm for silicomanganese 60/14 and still has thousands of stocks with intention to sell the material at about RMB5,750/t ex works VAT excluded now. The company mainly supplies the material to dealers. Ms. Jiang disclosed that the market is so sluggish that they suffered a loss of several million yuan, but they have to keep running because they have to make the worker’s life normal and keep the relationships with their clients. Moreover, pressure from the local government is also considered as a factor. They also believed that the market will not recover in the coming few months according to the current weak situation.

Thereafter, Bata Chen visited Quanzhou County Longhua Ferroalloys Co., Ltd.. Xinfa Li, the CEO of the company stated that the company has one furnace of 12,500KVA in the new plant and one furnace of 6,300KVA in the old plant for producing silicomanganese 60/14, and both of the furnaces are out of operation. The company still has 3,000t of stocks and intends to sell at over RMB5,700-5,750/t ex works VAT excluded at present. The material is supplied to dealers mainly. Mr. Li showed that the market moves so slowly that they can not get profits and are lack of confidence in the future market.

On the morning of November 9, Bata Chen visited Quanzhou County Dongda Ferroalloys Co., Ltd.. Yujun Jiang, the GM of the company revealed that the company has one furnace of 12,500KVA for producing silicomanganese 60/14 which has been out of operation for about one week due to the maintenance. Mr. Jiang showed that they will resume production after finishing the maintenance. The company still has about 2,500t of stocks and intends to sell at over RMB5,700/t ex works VAT excluded. The company supplies the material to buyers in Hebei and Shandong. Mr. Jiang complained about the stagnant market and believed that the market will not turn better within this year.

On the afternoon of November 9, Bata Chen visited Quanzhou County Dongfeng Metallurgy Co., Ltd.. Qingdong Su, the CEO of the company revealed that the company has 2 furnaces of 25,000KVA and 2 furnaces of 6,300KVA for silicomanganese 60/14, and they are making one furnace of 25,000KVA and one furnace of 6,300KVA working currently. They still have 2,000-3,000t of stocks and conclude deals at RMB6100/t ex works VAT included or RMB5,700-5,800/t ex works VAT excluded now. Mr. Su believed that the market moves slowly now and is pessimistic about the short-term market.

Then, Bata Chen visited Quanzhou County Fengyuan Ferroalloys Co., Ltd.. Guisheng Li, the vice GM of the company stated that the company has one furnace of 5,000KVA for silicomanganese 60/14 which has been out of operation for about one week due to the sluggish market. Mr. Li disclosed that they have lost over two million yuan so far this year. He also shows that the market is unlikely to recover for the rest of the year according to the current weak market situation and the company will not resume production until next year.