China March imports of most petrochemicals fall on high prices
Viola Pan
24-Apr-2014
By Viola Pan
SINGAPORE
(ICIS)–China’s imports of most petrochemicals in March
showed year-on-year declines in volume – notably, dioctyl
phthalate (DOP), isopropanol (IPA) and methanol – because of
higher prices, industry sources said on Thursday.
Its DOP intake last month slumped 88% compared with the same period last year, according to data from China Customs released on Wednesday.
China’s import prices for DOP were at $1,486/tonne CFR (cost and freight) China Main Port (CMP). After including taxes and fees, the import price translates to roughly yuan (CNY) 11,480/tonne, higher than the average domestic price of CNY10,360/tonne ex-tank Jiangsu, according to Chemease data, an ICIS service in China.
IPA import volumes also shrank 82% year on year, and down 68% from February, according to the data.
The decrease of IPA’s import volumes in March was largely because of higher imported prices and abundant domestic supply amid weak demand, industry sources said.
Domestic IPA prices in China were assessed at CNY9,510/tonne ex-tank Jiangsu in March, according Chemease showed.
According to China customs average imported IPA prices were at $1,920/tonne CFR China Main Ports or roughly CNY13,928/tonne after including taxes and fees.
Methanol imports, on the other hand, declined 70% year on year, but rose 13% month on month, the data showed.
For the whole of the first quarter, China’s methanol imports have slumped, largely on account of lower production at a key supplier, Iran, which was experiencing shortage of feedstock natural gas as it was being diverted to domestic consumers for heating purposes in the cold months, market players said.
Iran’s Fanavaran Petrochemical Company (FPC) has been running its 1m tonne/year unit at low rates. The same is true for Kharg Petroleum Co’s 660,000 tonne/year unit and Zagros Petrochemical Co’s two 1.65m tonne/year plants, industry sources said.
China is expected to record higher methanol imports in April with the resumption of normal operations at PETRONAS Chemical Group’s 1.7m tonne/year No 2 facility at Labuan in Malaysia.
However, expectation of intakes in April will rise as Malaysia’s PETRONAS Chemical Group (PCG) 1.7m tonne/year No 2 methanol plant in Labuan restarted last month following a maintenance shut down, which started last year and ended in March this year, the analyst said.
Meanwhile, among petrochemical products that showed significant increase in imported volumes are toluene, and glacial acrylic acid (GAA), official data showed. The rise in GAA imports was largely due to falling domestic supply because of some plant shutdowns in March.
China March 2014 petrochemical trade
| Product | Import (tonnes) | YoY growth (%) | MoM growth (%) | Export (tonnes) | YoY growth (%) | MoM growth (%) |
| Naphtha | 142,367 | -35% | 140% | 88,290 | 196% | 166% |
| Ethylene | 133,146 | 34% | 16% | 1 | 6394% | 126% |
| Propylene | 270,015 | 16% | 20% | 0 | – | – |
| Butadiene | 18,092 | -36% | -41% | 0 | -100% | – |
| HDPE | 343,944 | -14% | -1% | 14,390 | 29% | 28% |
| LDPE | 172,386 | 24% | 7% | 3,564 | -42% | 84% |
| LLDPE | 236,746 | 13% | 16% | 2,981 | -44% | -8% |
| PP | 396,032 | 2% | 6% | 12,807 | -36% | 17% |
| PVC | 78,545 | -11% | 18% | 89,798 | -24% | 47% |
| EPS | 4,788 | 23% | 2% | 22,390 | -24% | 114% |
| Benzene | 80,373 | -4% | 34% | 2,914 | -6% | 0% |
| Toluene | 142,668 | 55% | 21% | 125 | -93% | 46% |
| PX | 756,525 | -9% | -1% | 4,955 | -81% | -66% |
| SM | 322,188 | 15% | -4% | 7,145 | 54% | 240% |
| PTA | 100,401 | -48% | 32% | 44,787 | 1386% | 181% |
| MEG | 699,737 | -5% | 9% | 374 | -20% | -38% |
| ACN | 46,432 | -23% | 113% | 0 | – | – |
| Caprolactam | 21,144 | -54% | -12% | 0 | -100% | -100% |
| Phenol | 16,503 | -53% | 34% | 5,235 | 1480% | 150% |
| Methanol | 158,814 | -70% | 13% | 138,391 | 761% | 69% |
| Acetone | 40,091 | -12% | 46% | 39 | -12% | -19% |
| BPA | 32,284 | -16% | -18% | 15 | 1359% | 120% |
| IPA | 1,478 | -82% | -68% | 3,446 | 4685% | 2544% |
| MEK | 337 | -61% | 273% | 5,314 | 33% | -51% |
| Base oil | 290,194 | 33% | 28% | 943 | -29% | 5% |
| MMA | 25,926 | 9% | 6% | 2,586 | -46% | 29% |
| PMMA | 18,778 | 29% | 8% | 1,017 | -43% | 18% |
| GAA | 6,073 | 51% | 44% | 6,890 | -57% | 84% |
| butyl-A | 4,600 | 17% | 83% | 5,541 | 71% | 158% |
| 2EHA | 1,706 | -53% | 1% | 770 | 30% | -17% |
| 2-EH | 20,569 | -17% | 102% | 2,967 | 698% | 268% |
| NBA | 17,876 | -56% | 0% | 87 | -7% | 1220% |
| PA | 4,213 | -56% | 7% | 54 | 171% | -19% |
| DOP | 1,707 | -88% | 3% | 712 | -26% | 99% |
| Polysilicon | 8,402 | 31% | 50% | 159 | -76% | 40% |
| alkylbenzene | 1,448 | -16% | -32% | 11,100 | -12% | 42% |
| anionic surfactants | 4,417 | -17% | 27% | 13,525 | -23% | 54% |
| Butyl glycol ether | 14,220 | 50% | -14% | 24 | -80% | -72% |
| MIBK | 4,774 | -29% | 55% | 0 | – | – |
| Ethyl acetate | 43 | 81% | 39% | 39,928 | 8% | 47% |
| TiO2 | 13,736 | -5% | 0% | 44,333 | 25% | 33% |
| Epoxy Resins | 20,270 | 14% | 54% | 6,620 | -6% | 69% |
| MA | 28 | -54% | 14% | 2,809 | -53% | 86% |
| ECH | 1,771 | -68% | -32% | 77 | 42% | -19% |
Source: China Customs
Additional reporting by Sam Liang, Ivy Ruan, and Cindy Qiu
Read John Richardson and Malini Hariharan’s blog – Asian Chemical Connections
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
