The parent comment claimed that prices of finished products were higher than the costs of raw materials because a "big chem" cartel has a price-fixing agreement

The parent comment claimed that prices of finished products were higher than the costs of raw materials because a "big chem" cartel has a price-fixing agreement. I disagree with this. My knowledge of the field and personal observations imply an extremely competitive market (-> viability of expensive R&D for small improvements) and a field whose basic engineering problems (-> near-zero price elasticity) would naturally yield the observed prices (-> extreme variation when new demand is found). Both of these argue against widespread anticompetitive behavior.