China’s new PP capacities push overseas sellers to seek new outlets

In China, overseas sellers have been struggling to compete with attractive prices for domestic coal based PP cargoes, which are putting pressure on imports since new coal based capacities started to come online. According to players, China will lessen its dependence on imported PP thanks to its more than sufficient supplies while PP offers for Chinese origins have already started to show up in Southeast Asian markets.

A trader operating in Vietnam reported, “We have been struggling to export PP cargoes to China since March and we have reduced our PP allocations to the country accordingly. Our Chinese customers say that they prefer to purchase from their local market, where they are able to obtain cheaper offers compared to imports. At the moment, we are mostly focusing on our domestic market. We will keep monitoring developments in China to decide when we may resume our offers to the country.”

This week, Brazilian raffia showed up in Southeast Asia with an Indonesian woven bag manufacturer reporting that they purchased 600 tons of Brazilian PP raffia at $1225/ton CIF, cash.

In China, meanwhile, import PP prices on a CFR basis are currently standing at their lowest levels since the end of March, according to data from ChemOrbis Price Index. Players attribute this significant downward movement in China’s import PP market to the fact that large-scale additions of new coal based capacities are weighing down on prices.