Category Archives: Trade Trends

ITP Projects China’s Imports of Polyolefins Down Substantially in 2022; Smaller Volume Exports are Projected Up, Especially for Polyethylene.

Weak demand in China as a result of stringent Covid restrictions was reflected in lower imports of polyolefins into China, and higher exports out of China, in each of the last two years.

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China Reported Lower Imports of Most Major Polymers and Chemicals Through September, 2022

Of fifteen large volume imports, each exceeding 1 million tons, imports of only three products were up September 2022 YTD from the same period in 2021.

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Western Europe’s Polyolefin Intra-regional Trade and Import Volumes Indicated Steady Demand Through July 2022

Although polyolefin demand in Western Europe will increasingly be impacted by economic and geopolitical forces, both intra-regional trade and imports into the region remained steady through July based on actual reported statistics.

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EU Bans Imports of Most Polymers from Russia

On October 6, 2022 the EU placed additional sanctions on almost 7 billion Euro’s worth of imports from Russia. These included most polymers.

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US Exports of Ethylene Polymers August 2022 YTD Were 20% Higher Than August 2021 YTD but the Relative Distribution by Region Remained Almost Unchanged

The United States reported exports of 7.45 million tons of ethylene polymers through August, 2022, up 20% from the same period in 2021. Exports increased to every region but there were minor changes in each region’s percent of total.

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Lower Polyolefin Exports from Russia Indicated by Trading Partner Import Statistics Through June 2022 and Projected Through August

Russia stopped publishing trade statistics after January 2022. Russia’s exports, however, are visible from trading partner import statistics in ITP’s World Trade Matrixes. These indicate declines for both Russia’s exports of polymers of ethylene and propylene.

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China’s Imports of Polyethylene Picked up in August, 2022; Reduced Volumes YTD Changed Trade Flows Globally

After several slow months China’s imports of ethylene polymers in August 2022 were up by 140,000 tons from July. The 12% fall off in imports YTD, to 10.5 million tons, led to increased exports by Asia-Pacific exporters to Western and Eastern Europe and Africa.

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