Demand for ethanol, which is used for the production of many hand sanitisers, has increased as consumers stockpile hand gels amid the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported last week.
Several ethanol producers told the news agency they are seeing a rise in demand. US-based Cargill said that since last month there has been a doubling of demand for its denatured ethanol in Europe. France-based Tereos said it recently got a large special order for denatured alcohol, and Pacific Ethanol of the US also said sales of industrial alcohol are going up.
The Financial Times meanwhile reported this week that stocks of isopropyl alcohol, a main ingredient for hand sanitisers and alcohol wipes, are running low in Europe and its prices are increasing sharply. Prices for ethanol, another hand gel ingredient, have also increased. UK sanitiser producer DCS was cited as saying that costs of the raw material had risen by more than 50% in three weeks.
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