Affected by the continuous increase in PP/PE food-grade raw materials, the three major food zipper clusters in Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Jiangsu in China raised their prices collectively since April, with an average increase of 18% - 25%. It was clearly stated that EU and North American food-grade orders would be given priority for supply of high-purity raw materials, and non-food-grade domestic orders would be moderately limited in production.

According to industry association data, currently, the operating rates of food-grade plastic zipper enterprises across the country are only 65% - 75%, a decrease of 15 percentage points compared to March; the main reason is the excessively high raw material procurement costs and large capital occupation, which prevent enterprises from operating at full capacity. At the same time, the inventory of core food-grade special materials is only sufficient to last 15 - 20 days, and the supply remains tight

Positive aspect in the export sector: EU food packaging enterprises, to ensure the stability of the supply chain, accept a price increase of 15% - 20%, and are willing to pay a 30% advance payment to lock in production capacity; leading zipper enterprises in China have already signed supply guarantee agreements with several European food brands for the second quarter, prioritizing the supply of food zippers that meet EU 10/2011 standards.

Risk Warning: Small factories that have not passed food contact testing and use non-compliant raw materials will be completely eliminated from the export supply chain; the industry will accelerate its reshuffle, and enterprises with food-grade certifications, recycled material production capacity, and stable raw material channels will occupy the dominant position.