Tag Archives: China Polymer Trade Report

China’s Imports of Recycle Polyethylene from Europe, North America and Asia Each Down 20-30%

China imported 1.9 million tons of recycle polyethylene from all sources in 2017, down 23%. Imports trended lower for most of the year with further declines expected in 2018 as restrictions come into full force. Continue reading

Surge in China’s Polyethylene Imports in November as Recycle PE Imports Drop

China’s polyethylene imports rebounded strongly in November 2017. This followed a relatively small holiday-related decline in October, versus previous years.  Imports of recycle polyethylene continued trending downward, to their lowest monthly volume in the 2013-2017 period.

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China’s Recycle Polymer Imports Drop to Lowest Level in Over 4 Years

China’s imports of recycle PE, PP, PS, PVC and PET totaled 300,000 tons in October 2017, compared with volumes of over 700,000 tons earlier this year and a high of more than 800,000 tons late in 2013.

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China’s End to Imports of Recycle Polymers Will Have Global Impact

If China cuts off all imports of recycle plastics, as reported in the media as possibly occurring as soon as 2018, the impact on recycling industries in the US, Europe and Asia of the loss of a market for 7.3 million tons of recycle polymer would be huge.

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China’s Imports of Polyethylene from Iran

Through May, 2017, China imported a total of 5.4 million tons of ethylene polymers, up 17% from the same period in 2016. Iran supplied 823,000 tons, or 15%, of the total, down 7%. A  restriction on imports into China from Iran, will likely be made up by Saudi Arabia, US, Korea and UAE, among others.

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Strong Start to China’s Polymer Trade in January 2017

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.  Continue reading