Half Of The World’s Neon Production Is Stopped In Ukraine, Clouding Outlook
According to Taiwan’s Economy Ministry, Reuters reported that Taiwanese companies had made advance preparations and had “safety stock” of neon so there were no problems in the supply chain.
Similar comments were made by Taiwan’s central bank earlier in the day.
The Russian steel industry produces Ukrainian neon. This gas is also used for laser eye surgery. However, Chinese prices are steadily rising.
Bondarenko claims that prices have risen by as much as 500% since December, despite being already under pressure from the pandemic. A Chinese media report cited biiinfo.com as stating that the price of neon (99.9%) in China has quadrupled, from 400 yuan per cubic meter last October to more than 1,600 yuan/cubic meter late February.
According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, neon prices rose 600% during the period leading up to Russia’s 2014 annexe of the Crimean peninsula.
According to Richard Barnett (chief marketing officer at Supplyframe), which provides market intelligence to companies in all sectors of the electronic industry, other companies could start neon production, but it would take nine to two years to ramp-up.
Angelo Zino, CFRA, said that companies might not be willing to invest in this process if they believe the supply crunch will only last a few days.
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