China’s total polymer imports jump in November

According to data from ChemOrbis Import Statistics, China’s total polymer imports in November climbed 15% when compared to October while they also posted a yearly increase of around 13%, with the total volume reaching 1,780,310 tons.

The top five polymer exporters to China in November were Saudi Arabia (318,398 tons), South Korea (245,668 tons), Taiwan (209,243 tons), the United Arab Emirates (169,915 tons) and Iran (160,548 tons).

In product-based breakdown, China’s HDPE imports increased 6.8% in November when compared to the previous month to reach 564,953 tons. On a yearly basis, HDPE imports were up by 20.7%.

Saudi Arabia was the top HDPE supplier to China with 150,069 tons, the largest volume since 2001 when ChemOrbis began keeping records. Saudi Arabia was followed by the United Arab Emirates (102,062 tons) and Iran (90,639 tons).

LLDPE imports were 8.1% higher on a month over month basis to be reported at 272,622 tons in November. When compared to the same month of 2016, they climbed by around 12%. Saudi Arabia was the top supplier to China with 77,216 tons, followed by Singapore (54,621 tons) and Thailand (24,295 tons).

LDPE imports in November increased by around 17% from a month earlier to be reported at 235,650 tons. On a yearly basis, they were also up by 24.6%. Iran was the top LDPE supplier to China with 59,075 tons, followed by Saudi Arabia (33,082 tons).

Imports for homo-PP climbed around 24.3% from October to 306,143 tons in November while they were up by 5.5% when compared to the same month of 2016. South Korea remained at the top of the homo-PP import list with 85,430 tons, followed by Saudi Arabia (47,918 tons) and Singapore (34,918 tons).

PP copolymer imports increased 23.4% month over month to reach 118,653 tons in November. On a yearly basis, however, PP copolymer imports declined by 14%. Taiwan was the top exporter to China with 33,328 tons, followed by Singapore (28,870 tons) and the South Korea (21,358 tons).

China’s PVC imports jumped around 36% on a month over month basis in November to reach 76,772 tons. The US stood at the top of the November PVC import list with 42,389 tons, the largest volume since March 2012. The US was followed by Taiwan (15,975 tons) and Japan (12,112 tons).

Imports for PS were up by 24.7% from a month earlier to 47,849 tons in November. Taiwan was the top PS exporter to China with 19,957 tons.

For ABS, the country’s November imports climbed 24.4% to reach 153,573 tons. Taiwan was at the top of the ABS import list 81,960 tons, followed by South Korea (45,250 tons).