China petrochemical imports extend strong growth in September

26 October 2011 06:29  [Source: ICIS news]

By Dolly Wu

SHANGHAI (ICIS)--China continued to import strong volumes of major petrochemical products in September as prices of most commodities declined in the international markets amid softer demand coming from industrialized countries in the West, industry sources said on Wednesday.

The country, the world’s second biggest economy, is a major importer of petrochemicals in Asia.

In September, China imported 6% more ethylene on a year-on-year basis to 79,760 tonnes, while it took in 8,774 tonnes of butadiene, representing a 16% increase, official data from China Customs showed.

Its propylene imports totaled 143,332 tonnes last month, up 76% year on year, according to the data.

Spot ethylene prices on 30 September averaged $1,090/tonne (€785/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) China, down by more than 4% from the start of the month. Butadiene prices in Asia slumped nearly 21%, while propylene values tumbled 8% over the course of the month, according to ICIS data.

The decline in prices is largely caused by sluggish demand and a general bearishness in sentiment in the market amid fears of another round of global recession.

Meanwhile, China’s imports of paraxylene (PX), which is mostly used in the textile industry, showed a sharp increase in September to 522,021 tonnes, according to customs data.

Start-ups of new downstream purified terephthalic acid (PTA) facilities in China caused the 60% year-on-year spike in PX import volumes in September, industry sources said.

Meanwhile, China imported 701,359 tonnes of monoethylene glycol (MEG), up 29% year on year, and took in 31% more acrylonitrile (ACN) at 51,279 tonnes, according to official data.

MEG also has applications in textiles, while ACN goes into the manufacture of plastics resins used in toys, among others.

China will likely continue importing strong volumes of petrochemicals in the coming months, with the European and US markets currently in doldrums because of their respective financial and economic problems, said an analyst at China Petroleum and Industry Federation (CPIF) who declined to be named.

However, the country’s imports of the main aromatics products – benzene and toluene – declined as a slew of turnarounds at major facilities in Asia tightened available spot supply, industry sources said.

China’s benzene imports declined 40% year on year to 8,870 tonnes in September, while its toluene imports fell by 38% to 48,192 tonnes, China Customs data showed.

2011-Sep	Import			Export
Product	Import (tonnes)	YoY growth (%)	MoM growth (%)	Export (tonnes)	YoY growth (%)	MoM growth (%)
Naphtha	172,599	-26%	-3%	50,528	42%	23%
Ethylene	79,760	6%	-22%	0	-100%	-100%
Propylene	143,332	76%	-2%	7	40%	40%
Butadiene	8,774	16%	-22%	8,901	39%	201%
HDPE	314,816	3%	-2%	11,103	282%	61%
LDPE	167,047	82%	-1%	6,349	-48%	1%
LLDPE	240,837	8%	-12%	3,141	100%	-25%
PP	314,639	3%	-11%	15,922	120%	1%
PVC	115,873	-19%	17%	14,852	-34%	-56%
EPS	7,389	17%	18%	23,995	-31%	11%
Benzene	8,870	-40%	-3%	9,045	28%	-38%
Toluene	48,192	-38%	-2%	3,374	2105%	10784%
MX	56	1767%	331%	61	1120%	-22%
PX	522,021	60%	13%	24,761	68%	68%
SM	321,527	1%	-7%	2,500	1249900%	6150%
PTA	514,297	5%	11%	0	-	-
MEG	701,359	29%	5%	297	-9%	-4%
ACN	51,279	31%	36%	0	-	-
Caprolactam	58,438	12%	14%	10	900%	-99%
Phenol	67,152	6%	5%	112	-95%	53%
Methanol	379,654	-21%	-15%	5,145	1609%	-63%
Acetone	66,472	-6%	24%	57	-19%	1800%
BPA	61,139	50%	1%	400	-51%	-20%
IPA	10,100	69%	27%	82	-2%	17%
MEK	282	-87%	-92%	4,422	36%	-39%
Base oil	119,447	-9%	-12%	11,866	35%	-14%
MMA	14,112	100%	-7%	3,710	-49%	-20%
PMMA	15,865	-20%	-2%	1,375	40%	9%
GAA	7,564	12%	190%	3,517	-8%	2%
BA	7,259	339%	143%	1,824	-50%	-10%
2EHA	1,228	-21%	-39%	167	-79%	-35%
2-EH	31,128	-21%	34%	201	-31%	83%
NBA	34,704	-26%	13%	57	68%	0%
PA	6,737	-64%	-50%	279	407%	98%
DOP	3,288	-72%	-58%	657	-54%	-17%
Polysilicon	6,479	36%	0%	87	-34%	-49%

Source: China Customs

($1 = €0.72)

Read John Richardson and Malini Hariharan’s blog – Asian Chemical Connections

By: Dolly Wu
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