Methanol, polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE) and mono-ethylene glycol were Iran’s leading petrochemical exports (excluding liquefied gases) in the first half of 2024. Shipments of each were up versus the same period in 2023, mainly on increased exports to China.

Iran reported methanol exports June 2024 YTD of 4.3 million tons, up 15% from the same period in 2023. Shipments of polyethylene and MEG each increased by 11%, to 1.8 and 0.6 million tons, respectively. The increase was due almost entirely to much higher volumes reported by Iran as destined for China. .

Trade statistics from Iran show China as the destination for two-thirds of its exports of polyethylene and over 80% of its exports of both methanol and MEG.

Trade statistics from China show much smaller volumes imported from Iran as the country of origin. China reported large volume imports of methanol from UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia; of polyethylene from UAE and Saudi Arabia; and, of MEG from Saudi Arabia.

There can be a number of reasons for differences between what an exporting country reports it shipped to a trading partner and what that partner reports it got as imports from that country. The destination may change while the shipment is on route; and, there can reporting lags because of shipping times and customs procedures. In most cases, import figures are considered more accurate because they are monitored more closely than exports for customs duty and security purposes.

From International Trader Publication’s World Trade Analyses on methanol, all grades of polyethylene, and MEG, continuously updated analyses of global trade based on the latest statistics from all available countries.