Heavy Polyolefin Imports Into China

Led by polyolefins, China’s imports of virgin commodity polymers rebounded strongly in August 2012 for the second month in a row.Year to date through August, imports of virgin commodity polymers, including polymers of ethylene, propylene, styrene, VCM and PET, totaled over 12 million tons, up 4% from the same period last year. Imports of LDPE, HDPE, ethylene copolymers and propylene copolymers were up 9% to 17%. EVA imports jumped 36%. There was a small gain, up 1%, on imports of polypropylene homopolymer. These increases offset declines on imports of LLDPE, ABS, polystyrene and PVC.