India is experiencing a shortage of soda ash, driving up prices in the region. The shortage, which has affected the Indian market for several months, is due to lower than usual supplies from domestic soda ash manufacturers & increased competition for the raw material from other industries as a result of a recent boom in the auto & real estate sectors in India. There has also been a reduction in supplies from overseas, particularly from China, which has lowered its export of the raw material due to rising internal demand. However, the demand for soda ash in the USA is falling as a result of the slowdown in the housing & automobile sectors. Tata Chemicals of India is to purchase US firm, General Chemical Industrial Products for around US$1BN. The company produces up to 2.5M/tpa. Tata Chemicals has seen a rise in profits due to buoyant demand.
