Re: Key Ingredient to Bright Ni Solutions subject to olympic pressure
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In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics the Chinese government ordered the world's largest saccharin producer, Suzhou Fine Chemicals of China, to discontinue production at their facilities in the Jiagsu Province, outside of Beijing. Suzhou accounts for about 40% of the world's saccharin production, between 35 and 40 million pounds per year!
As a result of this government policy decision, Suzhou was forced to cancel its contracts (including those with major multinational corporations) and advance its plans for relocation, now estimated for completion in mid to late 2008.
The sudden removal of such a large quantity of saccharin from the international market led to panic buying, as the remaining producers, also mainly in China, are unable to supply market demand. Almost instantly, the price of Sodium Saccharin (an ingredient common to all bright nickel plating processes) skyrocketed to a level as much as eight times the cost prior to the plant closing.
