NEW DELHI: Caustic soda prices rose by Rs 50 per 50 kg in the national capital today on account of firm demand from consuming industries amid short supply. Caustic soda flake rose by Rs 50 to Rs 1,950-2,100 per 50 kg. Marketmen said apart from good demand from detergent manufacturers, tight supplies from producing belts also pushed up caustic soda prices on the wholesale chemical market here. The following are today’s quotations: Ammonium chloride (50 kg) Rs 1,000-2,200, Acetic acid (1 kg) Rs 44-52, Ammonia bicarb (25 kg) Rs 400-675, Boric acid technical (50 kg) Rs 4,800-5,800, Borex granular (50 kg) Rs 2,300-2,800. Caustic soda flake (50 kg) Rs 1,950–2,100, Citric acid (50 kg) (China) Rs 3,000-3,200, Citric acid deshi (50 kg) Rs 3,000-3,300, Camphor slab (1 kg) Rs 370, Camphor powder (1kg) Rs 320, Glycerine (1 kg) Rs 150-320, Hexamine (1kg) Rs 95, Hydrogen peroxide (1 kg) Rs 36-50, menthol bold crystal (per kg) Rs 1,560, menthol flake (1 kg) Rs 1,510 and mentha oi...

NEW DELHI: Water scarcity in Madhya Pradesh due to delayed rains have hit the production of Aditya Birla Group’s Nagda chemical plant, where capacity utilisation currently stands at just 20 per cent. “The water shortage is because of the poor monsoon last year,” Grasim’s Whole-Time Director Adesh Gupta told. The $29 billion Nagda plant requires 90 lakh gallons of water a day- 80 lakh gallons for the viscose staple fibre (VSF) plant and the remaining for the chemical plant, Gupta said. “…as the monsoon is delayed, the company’s chemical plant at Nagda is running at 20 per cent of its rated capacity fo 700 tonnes per day till the onset of monsoon,” Grasim said. While the chemical plant stays under-utilised, the continuing scarcity of water had compelled Grasim Industries earlier this month to temporarily stop production of its VSF plant at Nagda. The chemical plant, a rayon-grade caustic soda manufacturing unit of Grasim Industries, was set...