BASF declares Force Majeure for Vitamin A and E and several Carotenoids

• Plant shutdown after fire in Citral plant
• Restart of downstream plants after scheduled maintenance not possible

Ludwigshafen, Germany, November 10, 2017 – On October 31, a fire occurred during the startup of the Citral plant in Ludwigshafen. Consequently, BASF had to shut down the plant and had to declare Force Majeure for its Citral and Isoprenol based aroma ingredients.

BASF’s Vitamin A and E plants are currently also shut down for scheduled, routine maintenance. The company will only be able to restart these plants once supply of Citral is re-established and the corresponding intermediates for Vitamin A and E become available.

As the cleaning process, follow-up inspection, repair and restart of the Citral plant will take several weeks, BASF is forced to extend the Force Majeure to Vitamin A and E and, in consequence, to several Carotenoid products.

The impact of the Force Majeure situation as well as the effects for customers resulting therefrom are being evaluated at the moment. Meanwhile, BASF is implementing measures to limit the consequences of the situation.

BASF will continuously inform its customers about the development and the details regarding the supply capability of the affected products.

About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 114,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of about €58 billion in 2016. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.

P-17-367