Preliminary figures for 2016 indicate a 6% increase in global trade volume in polyethylene film and sheet, to just under 5 million tons.

PE sheet/film/other flat products are widely traded with nearly every country importing and/or exporting.

China is a major exporter. Shipments from China set new record highs in November and again in December 2016, ending the year up 16% on a volume of 482,000 tons. The United States was the top destination, followed by Japan, Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Australia and many other markets. On a regional level, China’s exports go 55% to other Asia-Pacific, 15% to North America, and approximately 7% each to Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Although volumes were smaller, there were large percentage increases on exports out of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia and Poland.

From International Trader Publications’: Polyethylene Sheet and Other Flat Products World Trade Report