Ukraine SPVC imports dropped by 24% in the first two months of 2017

MOSCOW (MRC)–Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to Ukraine decreased in the first two months of  2017 by 24% year on year, totalling 14,100 tonnes, according to MRC’s DataScope report.

February’s SPVC imports to Ukraine rose to 7,400 tonnes, despite the “low season”, compared to 6,700 tonnes in January, as some window profiles producers traditionally increased their purchasing.

Overall SPVC imports were 14,100 tonnes in January-February 2017, compared to 18,600 tonnes a year earlier. Last year’s high figure was due to low prices in the US in November-December 2015, which led to some companies actively building up additional inventories of cheap material at the start of the season.

The structure of PVC imports to Ukraine by countries looked the following way.

February’s SPVC imports from the USA were 1,500 tonnes, compared to 1,300 tonnes in January, while imports of North American resin totalled 2,800 tonnes in the first two months of 2017 versus 12,500 tonnes a year earlier.

February imports of European PVC to the Ukrainian market increased to 4,600 tonnes, compared to 4,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall imports of European PVC to Ukraine totalled 8,600 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 4,400 tonnes a year earlier.

Last month’s imports of Russian SPVC dropped to 1,300 tonnes from 1,500 tonnes in January. Shipments of Russian resin were 2,800 tonnes in the first two months of 2017, compared to 1,500 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC, a partner of ICIS, produces polymers news and pricing reports from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.