Feb 2023 China PE Imports Increased M-O-M & Y-O-Y
According to GACC, China’s total import volume in February 2023 was 1,119.51kt, up 8.85% M-O-M and 3.4% Y-O-Y. The total import volume in the first 2 months of 2023 was 2,147.97kt, down 3.15% Y-O-Y. The import volume in Febraury increased notably from January 2023 because the customs clearance of some imported resources was delayed due to the Spring Festival holiday. Meanwhile, downstream operating rates rose gradually with downstream enterprises resuming production after the holiday, improving the demand for overseas resourcers.
In February 2023, China’s PE imports from Saudi Arabia, the U.S., UAE, Qatar, South Korea and Russia improved, especially from Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Those from a certain country in the Middle East, Singapore, Canada and Malaysia decreased. The PE imports from Saudi Arabia were 264.2kt in February 2023, up 64.9kt or 32.56% M-O-M. Those from the U.S. were 159.5kt, up 8.3kt or 5.49% M-O-M. Those from UAE were 134kt, up 4.6kt or 3.55% M-O-M. Those from a certain country in the Middle East were 102kt, down 26kt or 20.31% M-O-M. Those from Singapore were 81.9kt, down 4.1kt or 4.77% M-O-M.
As for the trade mode, China mainly imported PE via general trade, processing trade with imported materials and stored goods in bonded warehouses. Therein, the import volume via general trade was 920.5kt in February 2023, up 7.43% M-O-M, taking up 82% of the total. That via processing trade with imported materials and stored goods in bonded warehouses was 100kt and 81.9kt, taking up 9% and 7% respectively.
In February 2023, the import volume increased M-O-M as the customs clearance of some imported resources was delayed to February. Meanwhile, China’s domestic PE price remained at a low level, dampening imports to some extent. Some units in a certain country in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Qatar took overhauls, reducing their supply to China. In addition, some newly added units at PetroChina Guangdong Petrochemical and Sinopec Hainan Refining and Chemical were put into production in February and their products came into the market gradually. As for the demand, the production of mulch film was in a peak season in February, improving orders slightly. Operating rates of other downstream industries continued to recover, still lower than those in last year. With China’s demand peak season and large amount of consumption, it’s estimated that the import volume will gradually increase, while the increment will slow down considering high overseas prices. Therefore, SCI reckons that China’s import volume in March will inch up M-O-M to around 1,150kt.
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