Turkey’s textile grade PET and POY markets fail to retain upturn

Import textile grade PET prices eased down this week after showing a firming trend in the first half of June in Turkey. Previously, the market witnessed higher prices on the heels of improved Asian polyester markets following COVID-19 lockdowns. Hopes for a demand recovery in Turkey’s textile industry which was hit quite hard by the pandemic also contributed to the firmer sentiment.

Nevertheless, the upturn has proved to be short-lived in the wake of hesitant demand and tough competition between suppliers.

PET textile chips prices trimmed down on the high end

According to ChemOrbis Weekly PET analysis, the overall range for Asian PET textile chips was assessed at $680-710/ton CIF Turkey, cash. The high end was trimmed by $20/ton from last week in response to unsatisfactory buying interest.



Mild demand weighed on sellers despite higher crude prices

“Activity continues to lag behind sellers’ hopes even after the lifting of virus-induced measures in Turkey and other markets. Manufacturers are still running their factories at modest rates based on order entries from export markets,” opined players.

A trader reported to ChemOrbis, “Manufacturers were either caught with high inventories during the pandemic or were also involved purchases in May to lower their costs. It takes time for export orders to recover for textile goods amid the ongoing impact of pandemic. If demand was buoyant, prices could sustain the firming on the heels of higher oil prices.”

Domestic producer requested for protection

The Ministry of Trade launched an investigation on imports of PET textile chips upon a request from Turkish domestic producer, SASA A.S, which may pave a way for safeguard measures on the longer run.

Early response from players has been thin as the investigation is likely to take a minimum period of 9 months. Sellers commented, “Many of our customers import material with re-export documents, thus no severe impact is likely even in case of a decision for extra duties on imports.”

On the other side of the coin, some players believe that imports may visibly be hurt by a possible safeguard measure next year.

According to ChemOrbis Import Statistics, Turkey imported around 45,000 tons of PET textile chips in January-April, 2020. The volume indicated a 25% increase from the same period of last year while imports have shown a steady rise for this particular period since 2015.

Hike attempts for POY faltered as India and China compete for market share

A growing competition between Chinese and Indian suppliers prevailed in Turkey since June kicked in which prevented prices from holding their gains. Chinese POY producers achieved good sales to Turkey in April and May until India returned from a virus-led lockdown with more competitive prices.

Partially Oriented Yarn (POY) offers with 300-500 D (denier) were reported within a range of $750-880/ton on CIF, cash basis, including various origins.

Indian POY was $20/ton higher on the low end at $750-780/ton, but remained below Chinese origins at and above $820/ton. A seller reported, “Our customers voiced lower bids citing Indian offers. We prefer not to offer that active for this reason.”

Early on Thursday, a player reported, “A Malaysian producer issued $60/ton drops bringing their prices to $810/ton when compared to earlier this week. We expect other Asian producers to follow suit as the market turned down.”