China sees drop in some petchem imports in Dec ’14 on weak demand
Viola Pan
27-Jan-2015
By
Viola Pan
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China’s imports of some petrochemical products dropped in December 2014 because of sluggish domestic demand, official data showed on Tuesday.
The intakes of glacial acrylic acid (GAA) shrank by 64% to 1,779 tonnes on a year-on-year basis in December 2014, and edged down by 6% month on month, data from China Customs showed.
Meanwhile, the butyl acrylate (butyl-A) imports in December last year fell by 59% year on year to 2,606 tonnes, but up by 93% month on month, data showed.
The acrylic acid and acrylate esters imports fell year on year as many buyers were cautious and took a wait-and-see attitude, an acrylic acid industry source said.
However, the increase of the butyl-A imports on a month-on-month basis was due to tight supply resulted from low domestic operating rates, as well as lower import prices, the source added.
The import volumes of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) went down by 58% year on year to 66,597 tonnes in December, but up by 18% month on month, the data showed.
The year-on-year drop for the PTA imports in December was largely due to the rising domestic capacity, a PTA industry source said.
Nonetheless, the imports of some petrochemical products rose in December 2014, such as naphtha and butyl glycol ether, according to the data.
China’s imports of naphtha almost tripled to 517,416 tonnes year on year, while butyl glycol ether more than doubled year on year to 13,626 tonnes, the data showed.
China’s petrochemical imports and exports in December 2014
|
2014-Dec |
Import |
Export | ||||
|
Product |
Import (tonnes) |
YoY growth (%) |
MoM growth (%) |
Export (tonnes) |
YoY growth (%) |
MoM growth (%) |
|
Naphtha |
517,416 |
177% |
1% |
0 |
– |
– |
|
Ethylene |
125,672 |
-19% |
9% |
2 |
568% |
-47% |
|
Propylene |
293,253 |
8% |
12% |
0 |
– |
-100% |
|
Butadiene |
26,949 |
-16% |
83% |
0 |
-100% |
– |
|
HDPE |
428,092 |
-2% |
20% |
13,503 |
60% |
40% |
|
LDPE |
183,615 |
-6% |
17% |
4,237 |
35% |
-10% |
|
LLDPE |
193,261 |
-21% |
22% |
3,379 |
-17% |
-39% |
|
PP |
426,814 |
-19% |
13% |
17,778 |
13% |
20% |
|
PVC |
79,013 |
4% |
25% |
34,519 |
1% |
-33% |
|
EPS |
3,989 |
-19% |
23% |
27,789 |
38% |
16% |
|
Benzene |
70,290 |
4% |
92% |
5,042 |
27910% |
-42% |
|
Toluene |
42,037 |
-55% |
8% |
155 |
164% |
334% |
|
PX |
1,178,099 |
50% |
25% |
19 |
-100% |
-100% |
|
SM |
309,704 |
-8% |
18% |
0 |
-100% |
– |
|
PTA |
66,597 |
-58% |
18% |
30,933 |
104% |
-52% |
|
MEG |
723,169 |
13% |
15% |
2,322 |
1395% |
605% |
|
ACN |
55,961 |
9% |
64% |
0 |
– |
– |
|
Caprolactam |
15,551 |
-48% |
37% |
13 |
229% |
-17% |
|
Phenol |
20,819 |
-13% |
7% |
2,867 |
17% |
-61% |
|
Methanol |
385,721 |
21% |
-11% |
36,250 |
-69% |
-4% |
|
Acetone |
53,785 |
34% |
114% |
58 |
-4% |
-1% |
|
BPA |
58,412 |
7% |
46% |
18 |
29983% |
-94% |
|
IPA |
5,548 |
5% |
0% |
5,000 |
93% |
5504% |
|
MEK |
184 |
-39% |
54% |
7,240 |
29% |
-44% |
|
Base oil |
210,950 |
-6% |
5% |
742 |
-73% |
-27% |
|
MMA |
23,644 |
3% |
-13% |
2,204 |
-26% |
16% |
|
PMMA |
20,689 |
-9% |
13% |
854 |
-7% |
-8% |
|
GAA |
1,779 |
-64% |
-6% |
6,100 |
34% |
-2% |
|
butyl-A |
2,606 |
-59% |
93% |
3,027 |
-39% |
22% |
|
2EHA |
3,094 |
-11% |
39% |
201 |
-65% |
15% |
|
2-EH |
26,228 |
-2% |
46% |
3,579 |
31% |
-31% |
|
NBA |
24,893 |
8% |
189% |
49 |
-19% |
-71% |
|
PA |
12,797 |
52% |
78% |
67 |
199% |
-69% |
|
DOP |
13,523 |
-9% |
666% |
520 |
91% |
101% |
|
Polysilicon |
9,206 |
8% |
-22% |
178 |
-85% |
3% |
|
Alkylbenzene |
1,378 |
-50% |
27% |
22,776 |
237% |
77% |
|
Anionic surfactants |
4,964 |
5% |
19% |
16,063 |
38% |
-12% |
|
Butyl glycol ether |
13,626 |
105% |
66% |
616 |
1168% |
501% |
|
MIBK |
6,162 |
9% |
8% |
0 |
-82% |
-91% |
|
Ethyl acetate |
23 |
-7% |
3% |
30,129 |
-37% |
6% |
|
TiO2 |
17,982 |
16% |
-21% |
43,751 |
14% |
6% |
|
Epoxy Resins |
21,887 |
17% |
23% |
5,395 |
7% |
20% |
|
MA |
44 |
100% |
14% |
2,960 |
7% |
58% |
|
ECH |
2,480 |
-21% |
-26% |
43 |
-65% |
53% |
|
PET |
16,006 |
7% |
11% |
189,590 |
11% |
-18% |
Source: China Customs
Global News + ICIS Chemical Business (ICB)
See the full picture, with unlimited access to ICIS chemicals news across all markets and regions, plus ICB, the industry-leading magazine for the chemicals industry.
Contact us
Partnering with ICIS unlocks a vision of a future you can trust and achieve. We leverage our unrivalled network of industry experts to deliver a comprehensive market view based on independent and reliable data, insight and analytics.
Contact us to learn how we can support you as you transact today and plan for tomorrow.
READ MORE
