Tag Archives: Western Europe

2.2 Million Tons of Ethylene Trade Was Added Globally From 2010 – 2019, but was Followed in 2020 by a Sharp Contraction.

The volume of ethylene traded globally rose from 5.8 million tons in 2010 to a high of 8 million tons in 2019, then slowed to 7.4 million tons in 2020 because of the pandemic. Regional trade flows shifted dramatically during that period.

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The Volume of RPE Traded Globally Fell by 45% from 2016 to 2020, Dropping from 5.1 to 2.8 Million Tons

Key trends included: a dramatic drop in trade within the Asia-Pacific region; much lower imports into Asia-Pacific from other regions: much higher imports into Eastern Europe.

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Turkey’s Ban on Imports of R-PE Will Impact More Than 360,000 Tons of Exports From Western Europe

Public outcry in Turkey over piles of plastic waste dumped on roadsides, burning, and floating in rivers led the Turkish government to ban imports of recyclable polyethylene. In 2020, imports of RPE from Western Europe totaled 360,000 tons.

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Ten-Year History of Western Europe’s Trade in Recyclable Polyethylene

Over the period 2011 to 2020 there has been a dramatic drop in Western Europe’s total exports to other regions, an increase in exports to Eastern Europe which only partially compensated for much lower volumes to Asia-Pacific, and, increased trade within the region.

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The Volume of Recyclable PE Traded Globally in 2020 Rose by 9% From the Prior Year, to 2.8 Million tons.

Imports into Eastern Europe were particularly strong. Imports into Asia-Pacific also increased, despite China’s import ban. Expanded trade within Western Europe, Eastern Europe and North America were also factors in the increase.

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Record Imports into China of LLDPE and HDPE, and, Changes in Suppliers

As it did in 2009 during the financial crisis, China buttressed the global petrochemical industry with record imports of LLDPE and HDPE during the 2020 pandemic. Volume was heavy from May through October 2020. Much higher imports from North America (US), Eastern Europe (Russia) and other Asia-Pacific, and a drop in imports of LLDPE from the Middle East, were prominent supply changes.

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Trends in PET Global Trade – Bottle Grade and Other

Polyethylene terephthalate polymer is traded under two forms: bottle grade PET, and, other than bottle grade. There are substantial differences between them in terms of end uses, trade volume, and trade trends.

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