Page 93 - Tata_Chemicals_yearly-reports-2020-2021

Integrated Report Statutory Reports Financial Statements
1-59 Management Discussion and Analysis 147-300

the unique advantage of maintaining assured supply and ii. Sodium Bicarbonate
efficient service at competitive prices. Sodium bicarbonate is a versatile product with a wide
range of applications, including food, food additives,
The Company has a soda ash capacity of 4.1 million tonnes. animal feed, pharmaceuticals, dyes, textiles and air
More than two-thirds of this is natural soda ash-based, pollution control. The Company believes that given its
located in Green River Basin, Wyoming, USA, where world’s wide range of current and emerging new applications,
largest deposits of Trona occur and Lake Magadi in Kenya. sodium bicarbonate will sustain consistent growth
In addition to having lower manufacturing costs, natural soda along with offering significant value addition potential
ash has lower energy and environmental footprint. Synthetic in the future. The Company has a total annual capacity
soda ash and sodium bicarbonate are manufactured at of 240 kilo tonnes per annum (KTPA) in India and the
Mithapur, India and Northwich, UK to cater to their respective UK.
domestic and export markets. This process uses raw salt/
brine (saltwater) and limestone as key raw materials. During FY 2020-21, the Sodium Bicarbonate market
remained resilient despite demand contraction in
i. Soda Ash
the first quarter. Stable demand from Food and Feed
As a result of the pandemic, world demand in CY 2020 segments coupled with industrial demand in later
fell by 5.4%, equivalent to a loss of 3.3 million Metric quarters supported growth. Supplies were largely
Tonnes (‘MT’) over CY 2019. World operating rates balanced with imports reducing by 30% during the year.
outside China averaged 75% this year, down from 85%
in CY 2019. Trade shrunk from a total of 16.6 million iii. Salt
MT in CY 2019 to 15 million MT due to Covid-19 and Being an essential food ingredient, edible salt did not
its impact on demand and supply chains. A large experience demand challenges in India, even when
portion of the demand decline was accounted for by Covid-19 affected demand for most of the sectors.
a reduction in consumption of flat glass, the largest However, in the UK market, the demand for both
application segment for soda ash across key markets of edible and non-edible applications was affected due to
Europe, North America and South-East Asia (‘SEA’). decline in leisure and hospitality sectors.

Global soda ash prices declined with demand slowdown c. Specialty Products
and supply overhang and recovered slowly as demand
began to recover led by China. In other regions, pricing I. Performance Materials
recovery was delayed and more modest as incumbents TCL’s wide range of conventional silica and HDS products
pushed to sell out available volumes. allows it to participate in markets poised for growth driven
by a push for sustainability across application sectors. While
Demand in India was severely affected in the first FY 2020-21 witnessed some short-term challenges in select
few months of the lockdown primarily from lower application segments, the overall market demand growth
consumption from glass and chemical sectors though remained healthy. The Company believes that long-term
the detergent sector remained resilient. On the supply trends, like tightening automotive emission standards
side, higher pipeline inventories, domestic operating and an increase in electric vehicles will drive demand for
rates and imports kept the market imbalanced. high-performance, low noise and fuel-efficient green tyres,
This coupled with lower import prices kept domestic which need superior materials like HDS.
pricing under pressure for a major part of the year.
The demand, however, continued to recover II. Nutrition Sciences
sequentially across all application sectors and by The Nutrition Sciences business of the Company under the
year-end had reached close to normalcy. brand Tata NQ, offers solutions for human and animal health.

Tightening automotive emission standards and an increase in electric vehicles will
drive demand for high-performance, low noise and fuel-efficient green tyres, which
need superior materials like HDS

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