China posts sharp rise in Nov olefins imports

27 December 2007 05:25  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--China posted a sharp rise in November olefins imports compared with the same period a year ago, but naphtha buying fell, statistics from the customs bureau showed on Thursday.

Butadiene (BD) imports more than quadrupled to 13,064 tonnes in November compared with the same month of 2006. The country is expected to import more BD next year when more synthetic rubber units come on stream.

Naphtha imports fell 47% to 39,977 tonnes while imports rose 23% to 224,587 tonnes. China is a net exporter of naphtha, but its surplus fell to around 560,000 tonnes in the first 11 months this year from close to 1m in 2006 as a new non-integrated cracker came on stream.

A recent petroleum crisis has also forced Sinopec and PetroChina to divert naphtha feedstock meant for crackers to produce more refined oil products.

Imports of most polymers rose in November from the same month a year ago except for high density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density PE (LDPE).

During the same period, styrene monomer (SM) imports nearly doubled to 310,993 tonnes and as deep-sea cargoes flooded the market, prices fell. 

Product	Period	Import (tonnes)	Export (tonnes)
Naphtha	Nov 2007	37977 (-47%)	224587 (23%)
	Nov 2006	71644	183146
Olefins
Product	Period	Import (tonnes)	Export (tonnes)
Ethylene	Nov 2007	65749 (254%)	(-100%)
	Nov 2006	18582	806
Propylene	Nov 2007	78420 (177%)	7 (NA)
	Nov 2006	28268	0
Butadiene	Nov 2007	13064 (305%)	667 (-82%)
	Nov 2006	3227	3693
Polymers
Product	Period	Import (tonnes)	Export (tonnes)
HDPE	Nov 2007	175370 (-8%)	1983 (63%)
	Nov 2006	191065	1216
LDPE	Nov 2007	63403 (-7%)	1063 (-15%)
	Nov 2006	68525	1248
LLDPE	Nov 2007	127831 (5%)	543 (178%)
	Nov 2006	121637	195
PP	Nov 2007	264324 (7%)	2855 (42%)
	Nov 2006	247108	2012
PVC	Nov 2007	111856 (0.1%)	47174 (180%)
	Nov 2006	111703	16826
PS	Nov 2007	120470 (10%)	15403 (-37%)
	Nov 2006	109681	24576
ABS	Nov 2007	196469 (16%)	2883 (8%)
	Nov 2006	170023	2681
PC	Nov 2007	95193 (21%)	30510 (76%)
	Nov 2006	78799	17308
Aromatics
Product	Period	Import (tonnes)	Export (tonnes)
Benzene	Nov 2007	8732 (-51%)	7602 (54%)
	Nov 2006	17854	4926
Toluene	Nov 2007	27325 (-62%)	228 (-51%)
	Nov 2006	72540	466
MX	Nov 2007	124 (-23%)	5 (-62%)
	Nov 2006	162	13
PX	Nov 2007	258499 (-7%)	34973 (177%)
	Nov 2006	278343	12645
Intermediates
Product	Period	Import (tonnes)	Export (tonnes)
SM	Nov 2007	310993 (66%)	11 (10%)
	Nov 2006	187706	10
PTA	Nov 2007	448770 (-25%)	(NA)
	Nov 2006	595168	0
MEG	Nov 2007	377891 (21%)	125 (108%)
	Nov 2006	311167	60
ACN	Nov 2007	32651 (-7%)	(-100%)
	Nov 2006	35263	1983
Caprolactam	Nov 2007	39172 (54%)	2 (NA)
	Nov 2006	25376	0
Phenol	Nov 2007	45964 (133%)	50 (733%)
	Nov 2006	19750	6
Others
Product	Period	Import (tonnes)	Export (tonnes)
Methanol	Nov 2007	133479 (87%)	23813 (-5%)
	Nov 2006	71227	24963
Acetone	Nov 2007	47420 (13%)	11 (-88%)
	Nov 2006	41973	91
BPA	Nov 2007	47574 (29%)	750 (3471%)
	Nov 2006	36946	21
IPA	Nov 2007	11972 (92%)	163 (504%)
	Nov 2006	6225	27
MEK	Nov 2007	4687 (-59%)	23 (-98%)
	Nov 2006	11483	1483
MIBK	Nov 2007	4225 (101%)	(NA)
	Nov 2006	2098	0
Ethanol	Nov 2007	6 (-68%)	4266 (-96%)
	Nov 2006	19	97210

Source: China Customs

By: Florence Tan
+65 6780 4359

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly