Oleochemicals

Frequently Asked Questions

• What markets are oleochemicals used in?

  Oleochemicals are used in end products including detergents, soaps, personal care and cosmetics products. The pharmaceutical sector also uses oleochemical products. In industrial applications, oleochemicals are increasingly used as raw materials for paints, coatings, varnishes and lubricants. However, one of the world’s largest end markets for oleochemicals is the food sector.

• Why has ResourceWise overhauled its oleochemicals services now?

  With converters, intermediaries and end producers ever more focused on environmental, social and government (ESG) issues, value chain participants are increasingly seeking lower carbon and more sustainable feedstock options. The insights into the biofuel byproduct glycerine provided by the reporting team for our decarbonization platform PrimaCarbonZero provides our chemicals-focused team unique perspectives.

  More and more, ResourceWise’s areas of focus – chemicals, forest products, and low-carbon fuels and feedstocks – are collectively emerging in the technologies that will meet 21st century value chain needs. As natural, renewable resources, plant and animal-based feedstocks offer an alternative to petroleum-based oils. And oleochemicals’ biodegradability makes them more environmentally-compatible than petrochemical feedstocks.

• How do subscribers access the datasets and analysis?

  The new oleochemicals service is available as an OrbiChem360 subscription as an individual or company account. Our price monitor section includes graphs showing prices (from daily to monthly incoterm-dependent) for each of the ten product areas. Our prices reflect those available between 2014 and 2024.

  Interactive Trade Flow wheels are available for products within our oleochemicals analytics service. The official import/export datasets are updated in real-time with some countries reporting as rapidly as within five weeks. OrbiChem360’s Mirror Trade Flow tool shows subscribers imports as reported by the receiving countries, as well as the exporting countries. Ability to determine a product’s final country of distribution overrides raw data feeds skewed by trans-shipment cargoes – allowing subscribers to see a truer picture of supply/demand dynamics for products of interest.