Reports of R410A stockpiling prior to 2021 step down
20th January 2021
EUROPE: Prices of the higher GWP refrigerants continued to decrease in Q3 of 2020 with manufacturers selling prices of R134a reaching levels not seen since 2015.
The latest report on European refrigerant prices provided by German consultancy Öko-Recherche also reveals evidence of stockpiling, particularly with regard to R410A, in advance of the 2021 phase down step.
While prices for the HFC refrigerants R134a, R407C and R410A continued to decrease moderately from previous quarters, prices for R404A were more stable. Öko-Recherche reports some residual demand for R404A but this varied regionally.
Prices of alternatives remained unchanged or saw a slight decrease compared to the previous quarter at distributor and OEM level but increased for some HFC/HFO blends at end-user level.
The Q3/2020 report included data from 71 companies from 12 EU member states, primarily France, Germany, Italy and Poland. This included three refrigerant manufacturers, 13 refrigerant distributors, 27 OEMs and 25 service companies.
