Nissan Chemical had run the plant at full capacity after it was restarted in mid August following a 35-day turnaround. But since September,it has continued to run its 50,000 tonne/year melamine plant at Fuchu in Japan’s Toyama prefecture at a reduced rate although demand has improved over the past month.They are keeping operating rate at 80-85% in view of the high natural gas costs in Japan. Buyers have become less insistent on lower melamine prices but the company has no immediate plans to ramp up production at the plant.