ISP increases global ingredient prices

The ingredients manufacturer is joining a long line of suppliers who have introduced significant price rises in the past month. From July 1, ISP will be charging up to 20 percent more for its pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, which include polymers, biocides and encapsulates. Global price increases​ The global price hike comes only weeks after its prices in Europe, Middle East and Africa rose between 5 and 10 percent. At the same time, June 15, the company also introduced a fuel surcharge to its products. "The additional increase is due to the sharp and continued escalation in raw materials and energy costs,"​ said ISP president and CEO Sunil Kumar. The ever increasing cost of oil is behind the successive rounds of price rises that ingredients suppliers have implemented in recent months. Oil prices rise to new high ​ Oil prices hit yet another record high this week reaching $143 per barrel. Prices have doubled over the past year as oil was trading at around $70 a barrel at the end of June 2007. Oil inflation has had a dramatic knock on effect on the cost of materials and transportation forcing many of the industry's major players to make similar price increases to ISP. Only last week, Dow Chemical announced a second wave of price increases of as much as 25 percent while Sun Chemical increased its prices by 10 to 35 percent. Only this month, BASF announced that its North American affiliate would be raising the price of all its cosmetic polymers by 30 percent, where contracts allow. Other major suppliers to the cosmetics industry, including Cognis and Croda, have also implemented significant price increases recently.