European PVC exports rise 43%, Russian imports up 44% in July

According to the European Commission’s statistics unit, Eurostat, European PVC exports were up 43% in July. Total PVC exports for July were reported at 91,335 tons, up from 63,854 tons shipped out in July 2015.

During the same month, Russia’s federal customs department reported that the country’s PVC imports rose 44% in July. PVC imports totaled 34,241 tons that month. China was reported to be the biggest supplier at 19,573 tons, up from the 9,706 tons that China supplied in July 2015. An unexpected shutdown at PVC producer Sayanskkhimplast was one of the reasons for the rise in imports. The producer has a nameplate capacity of 300,000 tons/year of PVC. Market sources reported that the producer has had to reduce PVC operating rates for the last six months because of an interruption in ethylene supplies from Rosneft’s Angarsk Polymer Plant.