Jan-Feb Styrene Imports Higher than Expected
China’s styrene import volume has showed a downward trend in recent five years, including 2022. However, seen from the date in January and February 2022, the import volume didn’t see a notable decrease, especially in January, because of decreasing overseas maintenance and import arrival delay. The import volume in February was basically in line with expectations. Overall, the total import volume from January to February was higher than initially expected.
Before the data from GACC was released, we have forecasted the import volume in January and February to be 110kt and 90kt respectively. According to the actual data, the estimation for January was slightly conservative. A reference basis for the estimation of import data is the ship report of SCI. The imports change level can be judged by comparing the ship report with the import data of the previous month. According to GACC, the styrene import volume in January was 143.1kt, up 39.25% M-O-M, and that in February was 104.7kt, down 26.86% M-O-M.
Trade partners decreased in February.
From the chart above we can see that the styrene import volume decreased from January to February 2022. In January, the number of import trade partners was larger than that in 2021, and the imports still mainly came from Saudi Arabia and Taiwan of China. In February 2022, the number of trader partners declined, and no imports were from Singapore and Japan, but those from Taiwan of China increased. Saudi Arabia remained the first trade partner with the largest exports to China. According to downstream producers, the price of styrene imported from Taiwan of China was cheaper than the purchase price in China’s mainland, so the import volume from Taiwan increased. The imports from Singapore and Japan declined in February, because local enterprises underwent maintenance, and some reduced operating rates due to profit losses.
Styrene reception places declined in Feb
In January 2022, the imports in various provinces all increased from 2021. Thereinto, the imports in Zhejiang Province increased the most, as major styrene downstream plants are located there. But in February, the imports in various provinces declined on an M-O-M comparison, and the imports in Guangdong was zero in February, which was rare in history. In 2021, the Phase II 700kt/a styrene unit at CNOOC & Shell Petrochemical was put into operation. Moreover, Fujian also had new capacity, namely the 450kt/a styrene unit at Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical and the 600kt/a styrene unit at Fujian Gulei Petrochemical. With the supplement of the resources from surrounding areas, the imports in Guangdong gradually decreased. Meanwhile, the demand was slack in February affected by the Spring Festival, so the imports in Guangdong fell to zero in February.
China’s styrene output is expected to further rise, and the import volume of styrene will extend drops.
The 720kt/a styrene unit at Shandong Lihuayi Group was brought online after the Spring Festival, lifting China’s domestic styrene output to a new high. In the first half of 2022, the operating rate at China’s styrene enterprises showed a downward trend due to intensive unit maintenance. Nevertheless, the styrene output still moved up. It is reported that some styrene importers in the USD styrene market canceled long-term import contracts, which is a factor leading to the reduction in the import volume in 2022. It is expected that China’s styrene import volume will gradually decline to a low level, and the trade partners will be mainly in the Middle East region and Taiwan of China in the future.
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