China imported 39,000 tons of ethylene polymers from the US in October 2018, down from a monthly high of 102,000 tons in August.

On August 24th China imposed duties of 25% on imports of HDPE, ethylene-alpha-olefins copolymers and EVA from the US. China’s imports from the US that month were the highest for the year but volume slowed in September and again in October, to the low for the year of 39,000 tons.

Year to date through October China imported a total from all sources of 13.4 million tons of ethylene polymers, up 22% from the same period in 2018. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Korea, UAE and Thailand were major suppliers.

Imports of ethylene polymers from the US totaled 776,000 tons through October, up 25%.

From International Trader Publications’ China Polymer Trade Report – a monthly Report analyzing China’s imports and exports of commodity polymers, recycle polymers and fabricated plastic products.