China’s polymer imports decrease in July

According to data from Chinese Customs, the country’s total polymer imports fell around 2.5% on a yearly basis to reach 1,352,131 tons in July after declining for four consecutive months on a yearly basis. However, imports edged up by 1.4% when compared to June’s 1,332,669 tons. In the first seven months of the year, meanwhile, China’s overall polymer imports shed around 6.7% year-over-year to 9,488,674 tons.

The top five polymer exporters to China in July were South Korea (209,156 tons), Saudi Arabia (174,556 tons), Iran (152,213 tons), Taiwan (178,166 tons) and the United Arab Emirates (160,422 tons).

In July, the country’s LDPE imports declined 5.8% when compared to the same month of 2015 to be reported at 167,074 tons while they were up by around 7.2% compared with June’s 155,789 tons. Iran was the top LDPE supplier to China with 38,856 tons, followed by Qatar (21,365 tons).

China’s HDPE imports fell by 1.8% from a year earlier to reach 410,542 tons in July while imports dropped by about 1.4% when compared with the previous month. Iran was the top supplier to China in July with 90,011 tons, followed by Saudi Arabia (81,716 tons), the United Arab Emirates (69,576 tons) and South Korea (41,457 tons).

LLDPE imports increased about 2.2% on a yearly basis to reach 201,513 tons in July while they were up by around 5.9% when compared to the 190,129 tons of imports recorded in June. Singapore was the top supplier to China with 45,703 tons, followed by Saudi Arabia (34,515 tons) and Thailand (20,291 tons).

Imports for homo-PP fell 13.5% on the year to reach 233,102 tons in July. South Korea remained at the top of the homo-PP import list with 69,201 tons, followed by Saudi Arabia (33,135 tons) and Singapore (26,937 tons). On a monthly basis, China’s homo PP imports also slipped around 5% in July.

PP copolymer imports rose around 6.8% year over year to reach 110,943 tons in July while also increasing by around 10.3% from a month earlier. Taiwan was the top exporter to China with 25,889 tons, followed by Singapore (23,690 tons) and South Korea (19,592 tons).

China’s PVC imports, meanwhile, increased around 9.3% on the year to 54,068 tons in July. The top PVC exporter to China in July was the United States (23,781 tons), followed by Taiwan (12,972 tons) and Japan (12,488 tons). Compared with June, China’s PVC imports fell around 3.2% in July.

China’s PS imports were down by 9.2% on a yearly basis to 42,510 tons in July. Taiwan was the top PS exporter to China in July with 16,600 tons, followed by Hong Kong with 6,751 tons. On the other hand, China’s July PS imports witnessed an increase of around 9.6% from June.

The country’s ABS imports for July rose 5.2% on the year to 128,382 tons. Taiwan was at the top of the ABS import list with 72,887 tons, followed by South Korea (40,513 tons). On a monthly basis, China’s ABS imports also climbed by 1.6% compared with June’s 126,352 tons.