Stats: Chinese polymers gain unusual prominence in Türkiye’s July imports

China strengthened its position across several of Türkiye’s polymer import markets in July, even as the country’s overall polymer imports fell to an eight-month low. According to ChemOrbis Stats Wizard, China ranked as Türkiye’s third-largest overall polymer supplier with an 11% share, behind only Saudi Arabia and the US. The improvement was particularly visible in PP, PE, PVC, and EPS, pointing to a broader rise in its relevance beyond its already dominant role in PET.

Sharp leap in PP supplier rankings

In PP, the country made one of the sharpest advances in supplier rankings. Its share of combined PPH and PP copolymer imports rose to 6% in July from just 1% a year earlier, lifting it from 20th to sixth place. It was also the fourth-largest supplier of homo PP with a 7% share, behind Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Kazakhstan. The jump came despite overall PP imports falling below 200,000 tons for the first time since February, making the improvement in China’s ranking particularly noteworthy against a shrinking import market.

More visible role in PE and PVC markets

A similar shift was evident in PE and PVC. In combined PE imports, China climbed from 19th place in July 2025 to fifth in July 2026, increasing its market share by 3 percentage points year on year. It ranked fourth in LDPE with a 12% share, while the US, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Uzbekistan remained prominent across the broader PE slate. In PVC, meanwhile, the country became Türkiye’s second-largest supplier with a 12% share, trailing only the US, even as total PVC imports plunged to their lowest monthly volume since November 2025.

For detailed figures on tonnage and more, visit ChemOrbis Stats Wizard.

Presence extends across styrenics

The trend was also visible in styrenics, with China accounting for 16% of PS, 13% of EPS, and 14% of ABS imports. It was the second-largest supplier of PS and ABS, following Belgium and South Korea, respectively. In EPS, the country ranked third behind Austria and Russia, despite Türkiye’s July imports falling to their lowest level since January 2025.

Recent years offer perspective on China’s July presence

Data from recent years show that Türkiye’s July homo PP imports from China remained at very modest levels of between 1,000 and 3,000 tons during 2022-2025. In July 2026, however, the volume climbed to 10,000 tons. A similar picture emerged in PE, with imports from this origin barely reaching 1,000 tons in the previous few years before rising to nearly 7,000 tons in July this year.

On the PVC front, Türkiye imported almost 9,000 tons from China in July 2026, nearly double the volume recorded in the same month last year. Although these volumes remain relatively small compared with shipments from Türkiye’s major suppliers, such as Saudi Arabia and the US, the figures suggest that supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Middle East war prompted Turkish buyers to turn somewhat more toward Chinese cargoes than in previous years.

Temporary supply gaps create room for Chinese cargoes

Still, the recent increase should not be interpreted as a structural shift in Türkiye’s sourcing patterns. Türkiye is not a major destination for Chinese polymers, nor is China among its regular suppliers under normal market conditions, partly due to the long-distance freight disadvantage. Rather, the uptick reflected an unusual combination of circumstances earlier this year. Oversupply in China, particularly for PP and PVC, resulted in aggressively priced cargoes at a time when war-related disruptions curtailed availability from some of Türkiye’s traditional suppliers, temporarily creating room for producers to market more volumes to the country.

This window appears to have narrowed subsequently, however. Offers from China became much less visible from late Q2 onward as unfavorable freight rates to Türkiye and poor netbacks reduced exporters’ incentive to pursue this outlet. This suggests that the higher July import figures largely reflected cargoes secured earlier rather than the emergence of a sustained new trade flow.