Stats: Total Q3 polymer imports to EU27 plunge on quarter, edge up on year
by Manolya Tufan - mtufan@chemorbis.com
ChemOrbis Stats Wizard data revealed that total polymer imports to the EU27 from extra-union partners plunged by 17% in Q3 from the prior quarter and stood at around 2,250,000 tons. Nonetheless, the volume edged up by 1% from Q3 2023. In July-September, the USA (488,000 tons), Saudi Arabia (423,000 tons), South Korea (282,000 tons), Türkiye (148,000 tons) and Vietnam (125,000 tons) were the top five suppliers.
Compared with Q3 last year, the USA overtook Saudi Arabia’s place and became the number one supplier with nearly 500,000 tons as it raised its share from 19% to around 22%. Saudi Arabia’s market share fell from 20% to 19%, putting the country in the second spot on the list of major suppliers. Türkiye and Vietnam moved up on the list, with their shares reaching 6.6% and 5.6% from the previous year’s 5% and 4%, respectively. Egypt’s share in total polymer imports, however, decreased from 6.3% to 4.2%.
PE: US suppliers increase their market share
In Q3 2024, overall PE imports fell by 12% from Q2 to stand at 1,192,450 tons. Yet, quarterly PE imports were up by 9% from the same period of last year, when Q3 imports were slightly above 1 million tons.
The USA continued to have the lion’s share with 444,000 tons in overall PE imports, while its market share reached beyond 37% from 32.5% seen in the July-September period of last year. Saudi Arabia remained the second-largest PE supplier, although its share narrowed from around 23% to 21% in Q3 of this year. South Korea and Qatar ranked as the third and fourth largest suppliers, respectively, with no notable changes in their figures from the previous year. However, Egypt’s market share contracted to 4.2%, a decrease from 5.6% during the same period last year, leading to a fall to sixth position.
In a product-based breakdown, Q3 LDPE imports plunged by about 25% from the previous quarter to 147, 220 tons, while they also posted a marginal drop on the year. The USA remained the largest supplier with 58,000 tons, while its market share surged to around 40% from 30% in Q3 2023. Qatar overtook Saudi Arabia’s place, becoming the second largest supplier, as it raised its market share from 12% to 14%. Saudi Arabia slipped in the rankings, accompanied by a substantial decline in its market share compared to Q3 2023, from around 12.5% to below 10%, put the country in the fourth spot on the list of major suppliers compared to second in the same quarter last year. This placed S. Korea in third position, notwithstanding a decline in its market share. Egypt maintained the fifth place but saw a significant year-on-year decline in its market share.
LLDPE imports in Q3 fell by 19% from the second quarter to 210, 540 tons, but they soared by 10% from Q3 2023. The United Kingdom remained the largest supplier with 48,000 tons, although its market share narrowed year over year. Although the USA remained in the second place, it raised its share from 16% to 19%. Norway and Saudi Arabia made significant strides in the rankings, surpassing S. Korea, Türkiye, Brazil, and Egypt to secure a place among the top five suppliers. Norway’s share rose from 4.5% to 7.5%, while Saudi Arabia’s share reached 7.3% from 2.6%.
In Q3 2024, mLLDPE imports were down by 4% q-o-q at 373,240 tons. MLLDPE imports surged by 18% from the same period of last year, meanwhile. The list of the top five suppliers remained unchanged for this grade. The USA maintained its position, with a barely changed market share of 62%, at 232,000 tons. Saudi Arabia ranked as the second largest supplier despite its shrinking market share on the year. S. Korea and Canada saw their shares rising to around 9% and 3%, respectively, while Singapore’s share shrank below 1%.
Overall HDPE imports in Q3 fell by more than 9% q-o-q at around 461,450 tons, while they indicated an annual increase of 5%. Saudi Arabia remained the key supplier with 138,000 tons, even though its market share narrowed to around 30% from 34%. The USA raised its share from 19% to around 25%, maintaining the second place. S. Korea, Egypt and Qatar also maintained their positions in the ranking, with only S. Korea raising its share slightly on the year.
PP: Saudi Arabia cedes ground in Europe
Overall PP imports dropped by about 11% from Q2 to stand at 505,530 tons. Q3 PP imports rose marginally by 1.5% from the same period of last year, meanwhile.
In July-September, Saudi Arabia (168,000 tons), S. Korea (114,000 tons), the United Kingdom (45,000 tons), the USA (29,000 tons) and Israel (23,000 tons) remained the top five suppliers. Saudi Arabia’s share was sharply down from 39.5% to around 33%, while S. Korea, the UK and the US saw their shares rising to 22.5%, 9% and 5.7%, respectively. Israel saw no notable changes from the same period of last year.
PPH imports were down by 12% q-o-q at 365,490 tons in Q3 2024, while they were up by more than 3% from the same period of last year. Saudi Arabia, S. Korea and the UK remained the largest three sellers in Q3. Saudi Arabia’s share plunged to 40% from 49%, while S. Korea and the UK raised their shares respectively to 15% and 11%. The US overtook Egypt’s place via raising its share from 3.8% to 4.8%. Egypt dropped to eighth place from the fourth last year, with its share narrowing to 3% from 5%. Meanwhile, South Africa also increased its share significantly and became one of the top five suppliers.
Q3 copolymer imports were down by 7% on the quarter at 140,000 tons and they also fell by 3% from Q3 2023. S. Korea, Saudi Arabia and Singapore retained their places on the list, with only Singapore raising its market share from Q3 2023 versus drops in the shares of the first two suppliers. Meanwhile, the USA dethroned Israel to become the fourth largest supplier after its share reached 8% from 7%. Israel’s share shrank to 6.4% from 7.5%, meanwhile.
PVC: Lowest quarterly volume recorded since Q4 2012
PVC imports slumped by around 65% in Q3 both on the quarter and year at 51,750 tons, marking the lowest quarterly volume in over a decade. The notable drop in imports can be linked to the provisional anti-dumping duties that started to be imposed from July onwards on US and Egyptian S-PVC.
Mexico dethroned the US and became the largest supplier with 14,000 tons during July-September period, with its share rising from around 23% to 28%. The US’ share fell from around 31% to 20%, meanwhile. Norway overtook S. Korea’s place after its share reached 16.4% from 8%. The UK became the fifth largest supplier, with its share hitting nearly 8% from 3% in the same period of last year.
PS: Türkiye, S. Korea ramp up exports to the bloc
Overall PS imports were down by 22% from the previous quarter to stand at around 78,000 tons. Q3 imports fell by more than 25% from the same period of last year.
Iran, Türkiye and China were the top three suppliers of the union, accounting for around 56% of the cumulative imports. While Iran’s share barely changed around 25%, Türkiye boosted its market share from around 21% to 23%. Meanwhile, China’s share fell below 10%. S. Korea ranked as the fourth largest supplier by increasing its share from 5% to over 8%. Accordingly, Pakistan dropped from the 4th to the 5th place.
Cumulative imports for HIPS and GPPS fell by around 26% q-o-q at 33,000 tons in the third quarter of this year, while imports were down by 11% on the year. Iran became the main supplier as its share rose from 13% to nearly 17%, while the country was the third in Q3 last year. S. Korea remained the second largest supplier, with its growing market share on the year. Pakistan loses the first place to Iran, ranking as the third with its share moving below 12% from 15%. Vietnam and China advanced from the 9th and the 11th place, respectively, to secure positions in the top five suppliers list.
EPS imports fell by around 18% from Q2 at 44,870 tons, while they plunged by 33% from the same period of last year. Türkiye dethroned Iran to become the largest supplier in July-September period this year. The country’s share rose from 28% to 35% from Q3 2023. Iran’s share, meanwhile, was marginally down on the year. China remained the third largest EPS seller, despite its shrinking market share. Norway fell back in the ranking to become the fifth largest supplier, with its share down to 4% from 8%.
PET: S. Korea and China lose ground to the others
Overall PET imports slumped by 24% q-o-q at 365,230 tons, while they rose by 12% on the year.
Vietnam dethroned Türkiye and took the first place with over 100,000 tons, with its share growing from 19% to 28%. Türkiye’s share also rose to 27% from around 20% in Q3 2023. Egypt maintained the third place despite declining market share. Interestingly, while Korea and China saw a sharp decline in their market shares, Pakistan and Indonesia gained ground, moving up to the fourth and fifth place, respectively. This outcome came as little surprise, following the European Commission’s imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of certain PET grades from China in April.
PET bottle imports were down by more than 22% q-o-q while they rose by 6% y-o-y at 277,310 tons. Vietnam, Türkiye and Egypt remain the three largest suppliers. While the first two witnessed growing market shares, only Egypt’s market share shrank to 11%. Last year, S. Korea and China held the 4th and 5th positions, but this year, they were surpassed by Pakistan and Indonesia.
When it comes to PET textile, Q3 imports fell by around 27% q-o-q to 87,920 tons. They surged by 36% on the year, meanwhile. Türkiye remained the largest supplier with 30,000 tons in Q3, while it boosted its share nearly to 34%. India overtook S. Korea’s place to rank as the second largest supplier, with its share rising from 10% to 12%. Imports from Algeria flooded, with the country’s share rising from 1% to 8%, and put it in the third position. South Korea experienced a significant decline in its market share, from 11% to 6%, dropping to the fourth position. Tunisia, which ranked the sixth last year, moved up in the ranking with a significant increase in its share to be among the top five suppliers.
ABS: South Korea stands as the unrivaled leader
Q3 ABS imports dropped by around 20% q-o-q at 57,180 tons, while imports were also down by 3% from Q3 2023.
S. Korea remained the largest supplier with 42,000 tons, with its share rising from 65% to 73%. Taiwan ranked as the second largest supplier despite its shrinking market share. The USA overtook Saudi Arabia’s place to rank as the third, even though its market share barely changed. This was because Saudi Arabia saw its market share shrinking to 4% from 6%. China remained the fifth largest supplier, with a slight decline in its market share, meanwhile.
Compared with Q3 last year, the USA overtook Saudi Arabia’s place and became the number one supplier with nearly 500,000 tons as it raised its share from 19% to around 22%. Saudi Arabia’s market share fell from 20% to 19%, putting the country in the second spot on the list of major suppliers. Türkiye and Vietnam moved up on the list, with their shares reaching 6.6% and 5.6% from the previous year’s 5% and 4%, respectively. Egypt’s share in total polymer imports, however, decreased from 6.3% to 4.2%.
PE: US suppliers increase their market share
In Q3 2024, overall PE imports fell by 12% from Q2 to stand at 1,192,450 tons. Yet, quarterly PE imports were up by 9% from the same period of last year, when Q3 imports were slightly above 1 million tons.
The USA continued to have the lion’s share with 444,000 tons in overall PE imports, while its market share reached beyond 37% from 32.5% seen in the July-September period of last year. Saudi Arabia remained the second-largest PE supplier, although its share narrowed from around 23% to 21% in Q3 of this year. South Korea and Qatar ranked as the third and fourth largest suppliers, respectively, with no notable changes in their figures from the previous year. However, Egypt’s market share contracted to 4.2%, a decrease from 5.6% during the same period last year, leading to a fall to sixth position.
In a product-based breakdown, Q3 LDPE imports plunged by about 25% from the previous quarter to 147, 220 tons, while they also posted a marginal drop on the year. The USA remained the largest supplier with 58,000 tons, while its market share surged to around 40% from 30% in Q3 2023. Qatar overtook Saudi Arabia’s place, becoming the second largest supplier, as it raised its market share from 12% to 14%. Saudi Arabia slipped in the rankings, accompanied by a substantial decline in its market share compared to Q3 2023, from around 12.5% to below 10%, put the country in the fourth spot on the list of major suppliers compared to second in the same quarter last year. This placed S. Korea in third position, notwithstanding a decline in its market share. Egypt maintained the fifth place but saw a significant year-on-year decline in its market share.
LLDPE imports in Q3 fell by 19% from the second quarter to 210, 540 tons, but they soared by 10% from Q3 2023. The United Kingdom remained the largest supplier with 48,000 tons, although its market share narrowed year over year. Although the USA remained in the second place, it raised its share from 16% to 19%. Norway and Saudi Arabia made significant strides in the rankings, surpassing S. Korea, Türkiye, Brazil, and Egypt to secure a place among the top five suppliers. Norway’s share rose from 4.5% to 7.5%, while Saudi Arabia’s share reached 7.3% from 2.6%.
In Q3 2024, mLLDPE imports were down by 4% q-o-q at 373,240 tons. MLLDPE imports surged by 18% from the same period of last year, meanwhile. The list of the top five suppliers remained unchanged for this grade. The USA maintained its position, with a barely changed market share of 62%, at 232,000 tons. Saudi Arabia ranked as the second largest supplier despite its shrinking market share on the year. S. Korea and Canada saw their shares rising to around 9% and 3%, respectively, while Singapore’s share shrank below 1%.
Overall HDPE imports in Q3 fell by more than 9% q-o-q at around 461,450 tons, while they indicated an annual increase of 5%. Saudi Arabia remained the key supplier with 138,000 tons, even though its market share narrowed to around 30% from 34%. The USA raised its share from 19% to around 25%, maintaining the second place. S. Korea, Egypt and Qatar also maintained their positions in the ranking, with only S. Korea raising its share slightly on the year.
PP: Saudi Arabia cedes ground in Europe
Overall PP imports dropped by about 11% from Q2 to stand at 505,530 tons. Q3 PP imports rose marginally by 1.5% from the same period of last year, meanwhile.
In July-September, Saudi Arabia (168,000 tons), S. Korea (114,000 tons), the United Kingdom (45,000 tons), the USA (29,000 tons) and Israel (23,000 tons) remained the top five suppliers. Saudi Arabia’s share was sharply down from 39.5% to around 33%, while S. Korea, the UK and the US saw their shares rising to 22.5%, 9% and 5.7%, respectively. Israel saw no notable changes from the same period of last year.
PPH imports were down by 12% q-o-q at 365,490 tons in Q3 2024, while they were up by more than 3% from the same period of last year. Saudi Arabia, S. Korea and the UK remained the largest three sellers in Q3. Saudi Arabia’s share plunged to 40% from 49%, while S. Korea and the UK raised their shares respectively to 15% and 11%. The US overtook Egypt’s place via raising its share from 3.8% to 4.8%. Egypt dropped to eighth place from the fourth last year, with its share narrowing to 3% from 5%. Meanwhile, South Africa also increased its share significantly and became one of the top five suppliers.
Q3 copolymer imports were down by 7% on the quarter at 140,000 tons and they also fell by 3% from Q3 2023. S. Korea, Saudi Arabia and Singapore retained their places on the list, with only Singapore raising its market share from Q3 2023 versus drops in the shares of the first two suppliers. Meanwhile, the USA dethroned Israel to become the fourth largest supplier after its share reached 8% from 7%. Israel’s share shrank to 6.4% from 7.5%, meanwhile.
PVC: Lowest quarterly volume recorded since Q4 2012
PVC imports slumped by around 65% in Q3 both on the quarter and year at 51,750 tons, marking the lowest quarterly volume in over a decade. The notable drop in imports can be linked to the provisional anti-dumping duties that started to be imposed from July onwards on US and Egyptian S-PVC.
Mexico dethroned the US and became the largest supplier with 14,000 tons during July-September period, with its share rising from around 23% to 28%. The US’ share fell from around 31% to 20%, meanwhile. Norway overtook S. Korea’s place after its share reached 16.4% from 8%. The UK became the fifth largest supplier, with its share hitting nearly 8% from 3% in the same period of last year.
PS: Türkiye, S. Korea ramp up exports to the bloc
Overall PS imports were down by 22% from the previous quarter to stand at around 78,000 tons. Q3 imports fell by more than 25% from the same period of last year.
Iran, Türkiye and China were the top three suppliers of the union, accounting for around 56% of the cumulative imports. While Iran’s share barely changed around 25%, Türkiye boosted its market share from around 21% to 23%. Meanwhile, China’s share fell below 10%. S. Korea ranked as the fourth largest supplier by increasing its share from 5% to over 8%. Accordingly, Pakistan dropped from the 4th to the 5th place.
Cumulative imports for HIPS and GPPS fell by around 26% q-o-q at 33,000 tons in the third quarter of this year, while imports were down by 11% on the year. Iran became the main supplier as its share rose from 13% to nearly 17%, while the country was the third in Q3 last year. S. Korea remained the second largest supplier, with its growing market share on the year. Pakistan loses the first place to Iran, ranking as the third with its share moving below 12% from 15%. Vietnam and China advanced from the 9th and the 11th place, respectively, to secure positions in the top five suppliers list.
EPS imports fell by around 18% from Q2 at 44,870 tons, while they plunged by 33% from the same period of last year. Türkiye dethroned Iran to become the largest supplier in July-September period this year. The country’s share rose from 28% to 35% from Q3 2023. Iran’s share, meanwhile, was marginally down on the year. China remained the third largest EPS seller, despite its shrinking market share. Norway fell back in the ranking to become the fifth largest supplier, with its share down to 4% from 8%.
PET: S. Korea and China lose ground to the others
Overall PET imports slumped by 24% q-o-q at 365,230 tons, while they rose by 12% on the year.
Vietnam dethroned Türkiye and took the first place with over 100,000 tons, with its share growing from 19% to 28%. Türkiye’s share also rose to 27% from around 20% in Q3 2023. Egypt maintained the third place despite declining market share. Interestingly, while Korea and China saw a sharp decline in their market shares, Pakistan and Indonesia gained ground, moving up to the fourth and fifth place, respectively. This outcome came as little surprise, following the European Commission’s imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of certain PET grades from China in April.
PET bottle imports were down by more than 22% q-o-q while they rose by 6% y-o-y at 277,310 tons. Vietnam, Türkiye and Egypt remain the three largest suppliers. While the first two witnessed growing market shares, only Egypt’s market share shrank to 11%. Last year, S. Korea and China held the 4th and 5th positions, but this year, they were surpassed by Pakistan and Indonesia.
When it comes to PET textile, Q3 imports fell by around 27% q-o-q to 87,920 tons. They surged by 36% on the year, meanwhile. Türkiye remained the largest supplier with 30,000 tons in Q3, while it boosted its share nearly to 34%. India overtook S. Korea’s place to rank as the second largest supplier, with its share rising from 10% to 12%. Imports from Algeria flooded, with the country’s share rising from 1% to 8%, and put it in the third position. South Korea experienced a significant decline in its market share, from 11% to 6%, dropping to the fourth position. Tunisia, which ranked the sixth last year, moved up in the ranking with a significant increase in its share to be among the top five suppliers.
ABS: South Korea stands as the unrivaled leader
Q3 ABS imports dropped by around 20% q-o-q at 57,180 tons, while imports were also down by 3% from Q3 2023.
S. Korea remained the largest supplier with 42,000 tons, with its share rising from 65% to 73%. Taiwan ranked as the second largest supplier despite its shrinking market share. The USA overtook Saudi Arabia’s place to rank as the third, even though its market share barely changed. This was because Saudi Arabia saw its market share shrinking to 4% from 6%. China remained the fifth largest supplier, with a slight decline in its market share, meanwhile.
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