LATEST NEWS: China's Dec polymer imports down 10% on month, 6.5% on year

According to data from ChemOrbis Import Statistics, China’s December polymer imports recorded a monthly decrease of 10% to be reported at 2,221,748 tons, indicating the lowest volume since April 2020.

When compared to the same month of 2019, meanwhile, polymer imports in December were also down by 6.5%.

The top five polymer exporters to China in December were Saudi Arabia (398,662 tons), the United Arab Emirates (262,906 tons), South Korea (227,044 tons), Iran (200,557 tons) and Taiwan (198,829 tons).

HDPE

In product-based breakdown, China’s total HDPE imports in December fell 15.5% from November to be reported at 645,650 tons. On a yearly comparison, they also posted a 12.5% decrease.

Saudi Arabia remained the top HDPE supplier of China with 151,164 tons, followed by Iran (100,585 tons) and the United Arab Emirates (98,270 tons).

LLDPE

China’s LLDPE imports were down by 6.5% on a month over month basis to be reported at 508,256 tons in December. When compared to the same month of 2019, on the other hand, they increased nearly 5.5%.

Saudi Arabia was the top LLDPE supplier to China with 123,555 tons, followed by Singapore (77,164 tons) and the United Arab Emirates (51,584tons).

LDPE

China’s December LDPE imports retreated around 7% when compared to November to reach 295,629 tons. On a yearly basis, they were also down by around 3.5%.

Iran was the top LDPE supplier to China with 55,666 tons, followed closely by Saudi Arabia (49,816 tons) and the Qatar (33,610 tons).

HOMO-PP

December imports for homo-PP were declined 10.5% from a month earlier to be reported at 358,913 tons. On a yearly basis, they recorded a smaller decrease of 2%.

South Korea became the top homo-PP supplier to China with 65,187 tons, outpacing Saudi Arabia (56,833 tons). The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, continued to rank third on the list with 51,410 tons.

PP COPOLYMER

PP copolymer imports posted a slight monthly loss of around 3% in December while they fell around 11.5% from a year earlier to be reported at 151,951 tons.

Taiwan was China’s top PP copolymer supplier in December with 40,946 tons, followed by the United Arab Emirates (26,958 tons) and Singapore (25,764 tons).

PVC

China’s total PVC imports in December dipped 36% from the previous month to be reported at 31,991 tons. On a yearly basis, they also plunged 45%.

Taiwan became China’s top PVC supplier in December with 13,882 tons, overtaking the United States (8,212 tons).

PS

Imports for PS fell by 5.5% in December when compared to November to be reported at 80,752 tons. They were also down by 2% year over year.

Taiwan remained the top PS exporter to China with 19,545 tons.

ABS

China’s total ABS imports in December were down by 3.5% to be reported at 140,428 tons. On a yearly comparison, they posted a larger decrease of around 16%.

Taiwan was at the top of the ABS import list with 64,107tons, followed by South Korea (39,392 tons).