Short Supply Of Iodine Hits Indian Market

There is a shortage of iodine in India as several foreign companies - one Chilean and six Japanese - have stopped its supply to the country.

The situation has reached such a point that salt commissioner Jaipal Singh had to make inquiries into pharmaceutical companies if iodine shortage, apart from the already scarce position of potassium iodate, was effecting production.

Indias total annual demand of iodine is 800 tonnes. It is imported from Chile and Japan by a Mumbai-based firm.

The scarce iodine availability has not only effected the pharmaceutical industry but also the National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme, under the salt commissioner.

 

Edible salt has to be fortified with potassium iodate to get the 30 ppm iodine level to manufacture iodised salt.

More than 20 potassium iodate manufacturing units import iodine from Japan, Chile, Indonesia and Belgium. They have made a formal representation to the salt commissioner to pull them out the iodine crisis.

SQM is a subsidiary of Chilean Nitrate Corporation. It manufactures chemicals, including fertilisers like nitrates.

In 1994, the firm bought about 600 tonnes of iodine from SQM, the Chilean firm. SQM produces 6,000 tonnes of iodine annually, even though it has the capacity for 20,000 tonnes a year. In comparison, six companies in Japan together produced about 5,000 tonnes a year.

In 1994, the Japanese made a bid to corner the Indian market and produced as much as 6,000 tonnes. As a result, prices plummeted to $6 a kg as against the international price of $8-10 a kg.

Three Japanese firms faced closure because of this and iodine production dropped sharply in that country. Indian importers of iodine made most of the situation at the cost of the Chilean supplier and cheap iodine glutted the market. Subsequently, SQM reached an understanding with some of the Japanese manufacturers and supply to India was restricted from 1995.

SQM had cut back production to 4,500 tonnes, most of which were sent to Europe and the US. But the closure of the Japanese firms had an impact in the market; iodine prices shot up again, from $10 per kg in 1995 to $19.50 in 1996. SQM curtailed supply to India after the price hike.