China’s polymer imports hit highest February level since 2001

Data from ChemOrbis Import Statistics reveals that China’s total polymer imports in February surged 59% year over year to reach 1,714,959 tons. This was the highest level recorded for the month of February since 2001, when ChemOrbis began keeping records. When compared to January, the country’s polymer imports were up by 12.2%.

The top five polymer exporters to China in February were Saudi Arabia (247,972 tons), South Korea (233,496 tons), the United Arab Emirates (166,517 tons), Iran (165,154 tons) and Taiwan (158,480 tons).

In February, LDPE imports climbed by 28% on a yearly basis to be reported at 193,682 tons while they were also up by around 8.7% from a month earlier. Iran was the top LDPE supplier to China with 43,384 tons, followed by South Korea (20,543 tons).

HDPE imports surged around 61.8% when compared to the same month of 2016 to reach 556,813 tons, the highest February level since 2001. On a monthly basis, HDPE imports also increased 13.4%. Iran was the top supplier with 108,293 tons, followed by Saudi Arabia (96,312 tons), the United Arab Emirates (66,464 tons) and South Korea (48,161).

China’s LLDPE imports climbed 52.8% on a yearly basis to reach 249,140 tons in February while they were down by around 4% when compared to January. Singapore was the top supplier to China with 52,775 tons, followed by Saudi Arabia (45,403 tons) and Thailand (31,527 tons). Data shows that the country’s LLDPE imports from Saudi Arabia fell by around 25% on a month over month basis.

Imports for homo-PP significantly rose by around 82% on the year to reach 331,157 tons in February. On a monthly basis, homo-PP imports were also up by around 26.4%. South Korea remained at the top of the homo-PP import list with 87,307 tons, followed by Saudi Arabia (75,693 tons) and the United Arab Emirates (35,151 tons). On a separate note, the country’s homo-PP imports from the US witnessed a significant monthly increase of around 116% to reach 20,796 tons in February.

PP copolymer imports jumped around 81.5% year over year to reach 154,308 tons, the highest level recorded for February since 2001. On a monthly basis, PP copolymer imports were also up by around 9.4%. Singapore was the top exporter to China with 30,179 tons, followed by Taiwan (28,507 tons) and the United Arab Emirates (27,511 tons).

China imported 72,327 tons of PVC in February, up by around 100% from the same month of 2016. On a monthly basis, PVC imports climbed 16.8%. The US stood at the top of the February PVC import list with 33,097 tons, followed by Taiwan (15,162 tons) and Japan (13,040 tons).

Imports for PS increased around 37.9% on a year over year basis to reach 37,242 tons in February. When compared to January, they were also up by 16.2%. Taiwan was the top PS exporter to China with 13,769 tons.

For ABS, the country’s February imports posted a yearly increase of 32.4% while they were up by around 17.7% from a month earlier. Taiwan was at the top of the ABS import list with 61,164 tons, followed by South Korea (37,346 tons).