Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals to shut its sole PTA plant in Aug 2023

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Mitsui Chemicals is shutting down its sole purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Japan in August 2023 due to poor economics, the Japanese producer said on Tuesday.

The 400,000 tonne/year PTA plant is housed within the company’s Iwakuni-Ohtake Works site in Yamaguchi prefecture.

“A sharp rise in PTA manufacturing facilities – primarily in China – from the mid-2000s caused a slowdown in the market condition, which was coupled with a fall in Japanese domestic demand,” the company said in a statement.

“Despite reductions in PTA production capacity and a number of rationalisation measures, Mitsui Chemicals has determined that securing sufficient earnings to maintain PTA production in Japan will be unfeasible,” it said.

While Mitsui Chemicals will no longer manufacture PTA in Japan, it will maintain its existing sales structure for the domestic market by selling PTA imported from GC-M PTA Co, a Thailand-based joint venture in which Mitsui Chemicals has a 26% stake, with PTT Global Chemical Group holding the remaining 74% share.