Stats: Türkiye’s Q3 polymer imports down 9.5% year over year

ChemOrbis Stats Wizard data revealed that the total polymer imports of Türkiye edged up by nearly 1.5% in Q3 from the prior quarter and stood at 1,573,000 tons. Nonetheless, the volume dropped by 9.5% from Q3 2023 when imports surpassed 1.7 million tons. In July-September, Saudi Arabia (398,000 tons), the USA (148,000 tons), South Korea (146,000 tons), Egypt (96,000 tons) and Russia (90,000 tons) were the top five suppliers.

Compared with Q3 last year, Saudi Arabia’s market share stayed at 25% while the USA raised its share from 8% to 9%. This put the country in the second spot on the list of major suppliers compared to fourth in the same quarter last year. South Korea’s share in total polymer imports decreased from 10% to 9%. Egypt and Russia also saw their shares falling to 6%, both, from the previous year’s 7% and 9%, respectively.



PPH: Egypt replaces Russia, becomes 2nd biggest seller

Q3 homo-PP imports totaled 558,000 tons, up by 17% from the second quarter. Yet, the figure was down by 2% year on year. Saudi Arabia remained the largest supplier with 214,000 tons although its market share was down by 1% to 38% from Q3 2023. Egypt was the second top source with 75,000 tons, lifting its share from 11% to 13% and overtaking Russia’s place. Meanwhile, Russia exported 69,000 tons of PPH to Türkiye in Q3 and became the third seller, reducing its share from last year’s 17% to 12%.

PP Copolymer: Saudi Arabia faces plunge in market share

Türkiye’s Q3 PP copolymer imports stood at 131,000 tons, indicating a 7.5% gain quarter on quarter. The figure was down by around 2.5% from Q3 2023, meanwhile. Saudi Arabia (31,000 tons), South Korea (29,000 tons) and Belgium (14,000 tons) stayed the top three sellers. Yet, Saudi Arabia’s market share plunged by 16% to 24% compared to Q3 2023 while South Korea’s share at 22% indicated a 9% gain. Belgium also achieved a small gain of 1% in its share, lifting it to 11%.

PVC: US achieves 8% gain in share

Imports of PVC stood at 152,000 tons in July-September this year, slumping by 34% and 44.5% from the previous quarter and Q3 last year, respectively. The volume pointed to the lowest quarterly figure since the third quarter of 2019, ChemOrbis Stats Wizard further suggested.

In Q3, the USA was Türkiye’s top PVC supplier with 33,000 tons of sales while the country lifted its share from 14% to 22% year-over-year. France, the largest supplier in Q3 2023, saw its share falling by 4% to 11% with 17,000 tons of sales, putting the European country to second spot in the list of top suppliers. It was followed by Egypt (15,000 tons), with the country’s share decreasing from 13% to 10%.

LDPE: Imports perform better than other PE grades

Türkiye imported 103,000 tons of LDPE in the third quarter of this year, up by 19% from Q2 and 5% from Q3 2023. Iran (15,000 tons), Spain and Saudi Arabia (both 14,000 tons) were the largest three sellers. Iran’s share was up by 3% to 14% compared to the same quarter last year, while Spain’s share climbed by 9% to 14%. The country was the ninth supplier in Q3 last year. Last year’s top LDPE supplier in Q3, Saudi Arabia witnessed a 2% loss in its share at 13%.

LLDPE: Gap between S. Arabia-US narrows on year

Q3 LLDPE imports were reported at 196,000 tons, down by 7.5% from Q2. Meanwhile, the figure showed a marginal gain of 0.5% year on year. Saudi Arabia was the biggest seller with 70,000 tons, followed by the USA (65,000 tons) and the Netherlands (14,000 tons). Saudi Arabia’s share rose by 7% on the year while the USA achieved a 3% gain. The Netherlands’ share was up from 3% to 7%, putting the country to third spot compared to seventh in Q3 2023.

MLLDPE: UAE advances from 4th to 2nd in list of top sellers

Q3 imports increased by 3% on the quarter but decreased by 23% on the year to 33,000 tons. The USA remained the top supplier with 13,000 tons while its share rose from 37% to 39%. The UAE raised its share from 6% to 13%, which put the country to second spot in the list with 4000 tons of mLLDPE sales to Türkiye. It was the fourth largest seller in the same period of 2023. It was followed by the Netherlands (4,000 tons), with the country lifting its share by 4% to 11%.

HDPE: Q3 volumes plunge more than 20% y-o-y

Türkiye’s HDPE imports in Q3 recorded a 7% decrease from the prior quarter to stand at 233,000 tons while they plunged by almost 22% on the year. Saudi Arabia remained the top supplier with 60,000 tons, while keeping its share at 26%. It was followed by Iran (41,000 tons) as the country doubled its share to 18% after ranking as the fourth largest supplier in Q3 2023. Uzbekistan maintained its share at 11% although the country’s exports to Türkiye were down from 33,000 tons to 26,000 tons.

PS-EPS-ABS: Imports indicate reduced consumption in derivatives

In July-September, overall PS imports were down by 15% to 30,000 tons from the previous quarter. The volume represented a larger decrease of 28.5% from Q3 2023. South Korea remained the largest supplier although its sales to Türkiye were down from 10,000 tons to 8,000 tons. Its market share rose by 3% to 27%. Belgium was the second biggest supplier although PS imports from the country fell from 7,000 tons to 6,000 tons. Its share was up by 2% to 19%, as a side note. Iran exported 4,000 tons of PS to Türkiye, unchanged on the year. However, its share was up from 9% in Q3 2023 to 14% in Q3 2024.

EPS imports in Q3 were down by 3% to 10,000 tons in total on a quarterly basis, which indicated a 9% drop yearly. China dethroned Iran this year and became the main EPS supplier with 3,000 tons and a 34% share. The country ranked as the fifth largest supplier in Q3 2023 when its share stood at 8%. China was followed by Iran, with 3,000 tons of sales and 28% share, down from 35% in Q3 2023. Russia’s EPS exports to Türkiye eroded to 1,000 tons, drifting its share from 24% to 13% and putting it to third spot in the list of major suppliers.

Türkiye’s Q3 ABS imports at 42,000 tons pointed to an approximate drop of 6% from Q2. Yet, the figure increased 2% year over year, ChemOrbis Stats Wizard showed. South Korea remained the biggest supplier although its imports fell by 3,000 tons and its share receded by 8% yearly. Saudi Arabia was the second largest seller with 5,000 tons, overtaking Taiwan’s place with a 2% gain in its market share. Although Taiwan lifted its share by 1% to 11% and sales by 1,000 tons to 5,000 tons, it was third in the list.