Although volumes are expected to drop in February, imports in January 2017 of LLDPE, HDPE, EVA, polypropylene, propylene copolymers all were up substantially from January 2016. Imports of recycle PE, PP and also PET posted gains. Shipments of fabricated plastic products remained at record levels for the third month in a row. 

Differing dates for Chinese New Year, with the holiday this year starting a week earlier than last, make early comparisons between years difficult. A clearer picture of trends will emerge with February data but as of January, polyethylene imports were up 23% from the prior January; polypropylene imports, up 17%; recycle polyethylene, up 3%; recycle polypropylene, up 52%; and recycle PET, up 67%.

China exported various fabricated plastic products at a record rate of over 800,000 tons per month from November through January, volume in January up 11% from the prior year.

From International Trader Publications’: China Polymer Trade Report