Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia and UAE Exports of Polypropylene in 2024 Hit by China’s Aggressive PP Export Expansion Globally

Saudi Arabia exported 4.4 million tons of polypropylene (all grades, partly estimated) in 2024, down 14%. The UAE shipped 1.7 million tons, down 7%. (UAE does not publish statistics; data is visible from trading partners). Shipments to Asia-Pacific were the most impacted.

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Saudi Arabia and UAE Expand Polyethylene Exports in 2024 Despite Trade Challenges

Saudi Arabia exported 10.6 million tons of polyethylene (all grades, partly estimated) in 2024, up 2% from 2023. The UAE shipped 3.8 million tons, up 11%. (UAE does not publish statistics; data is visible from trading partners). Key to the expansions were regional shifts.

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Brazil was a Commodity Polymer Import Powerhouse in 2024

Imports of nearly all grades of polyethylene, polypropylene, styrenic polymers, PVC and PET were up sharply versus 2023, many grades setting new records. Brazil’s imports of fabricated plastic products also surged to new highs.

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Latin America’s PE, PP, PS and PVC Trade in 2024: Key Trends, Challenges, and Regional Shifts

Latin America’s trade in commodity polymers in 2024 was characterized by sizable exports of HDPE, polypropylene homopolymer (PP), and uncompounded PVC (PVCU). Latin America was a growth import market for each of the commodity polymers, noting especially both large volumes and large percentage increases on linear/ethylene-alpha-olefin-copolymers (LL/EAOC), HDPE, PP, and PVCU.

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Iran’s Petrochemical Exports Expand in the First Half of 2024.

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.

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Petrochemical Trade – Turkey Aims to Accelerate Free Trade Negotiations with the GCC, Potentially Impacting 1.8 Million Tons of Polyolefin Imports – International Trader Publications

Turkey imported 668,000 tons of polyethylene and 1.1 million tons of polypropylene from the GCC in 2023. The duty rate was 6.5% on virtually all grades.

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Advanced Look at Western Europe’s HDPE Polymer Imports

Although Eurostat statistics for polymers and other products are published three months after the trade month, an earlier view of import demand and the impact of shipping disruptions in the Red Sea can be obtained from trading partner export statistics.

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Trends in China’s Polyolefin Polymer Trade Through February 2924

Polyethylene polymer import and export volumes were higher versus February YTD 2023, but at depressed prices. Imports of polypropylene were down sharply; low-priced export volumes climbed.

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The Rise and Fall of Global Paraxylene Trade

New para-xylene capacity in China and also in the Middle East and the rationalization of uncompetitive production in the US and Western Europe have massively changed global trade flows.

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Trends in China’s Trade in Commodity Polymers in 2023

China’s imports of commodity polymers as a total of all grades of PE, PP, styrenics, PVC and PET, declined for the third year in a row, a loss of nearly 10 million tons of volume over the 2020-2023 period. Exports of the combined total climbed for the third year in a row, increasing by nearly 7 million tons. Shipments of manufactured products identifiable as plastic showed a small gain of 0.7 million tons in 2023, rising to 16.7 million tons.

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