Johannesburg, South Africa – Sasol has partnered with government to help combat the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa.

As a producer and bulk supplier of a variety of specialty chemicals, Sasol has developed a new unique blend of alcohol-based chemicals to be used in manufacturing of hand sanitisers to help address the increase in market demand for these products.

Sasol is a producer and bulk supplier of high purity ethanol (HPE), isopropanol (IPA) and n-Propanol (NPA) alcohols, which are solvent chemicals used in the production of sanitisers, amongst other key chemicals. The company supplies these to distributors globally.

Contrary to some reports, Sasol pricing has remained stable for key chemical feedstock since the current outbreak of COVID-19 in South Africa and the declaration of the State of Disaster and subsequent national lockdown.

“While global demand and pricing for ethanol and isopropanol alcohol has increased due to higher demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sasol has prioritized local supply and prices for South African sales have remained stable,” said Sasol President and CEO Fleetwood Grobler. 

He said the COVID-19 outbreak has caused a run-on hand sanitisers, which has in turn created excessive demand for alcohols required to produce hand sanitisers and disinfectants.

“Over the past few weeks, Sasol has experienced an increase in demand of nearly 400% for alcohol-based products.  In recent weeks, we have delivered close to eight million litres to the South African market and our laboratories, production, marketing and supply chain teams are working around the clock to ensure a reliable supply of critical alcohol-based products to customers.”

To help address the increasing demand for sanitiser alcohols in South Africa, the company has come up with a special blend of alcohols, which will be sold to existing and new Sasol customers to expedite the production and availability of these critical products locally to help safeguard the health and wellbeing of South Africans.

Sasol is collaborating with the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and is also prioritising supply to Government entities and other essential services to jointly combatting the spread of the virus in South Africa.