China May Rubber Import Volume Surged M-O-M

According to the statistics from China Customs, China’s rubber (including natural rubber and synthetic rubber) import volume totaled 649kt in May 2018, up 51.60% M-O-M and up 18% Y-O-Y. The May import volume was the highest volume in the past three months, but it was lower than the 697kt in January 2018. From January to May, the accumulative rubber import volume in China was 2,730kt, down 5.8% Y-O-Y. SCI learnt that the May rubber import volume increase was due to the delivery delay of the imported NR. The NR resources arrived at the ports intensively. From January to May, the total rubber import volume showed a downtrend and was slightly lower from last year. SCI predicts that China’s NR (including NR latex and mixed rubber) import volume is likely to be 520-540kt.