Mar PBR Imports Surged While Exports Changed Limitedly
Snapshot: In March, China’s PBR import volume surged. The increment was mainly in the import volume of PBR from Russia. But the export volume changed limitedly. The change of PBR imports and exports in March was analyzed as follows.
In March, the PBR imports increased notably.
According to GACC, the PBR import volume in March 2023 was 22,878.22mt, up 65.43% M-O-M and up 32.77% Y-O-Y. From January to March, the total import volume was around 47,385.82mt, up 5.82% Y-O-Y. Based on the arrival time, China’s downstream tire enterprises saw a significant rise in the operating rate in February and March, and the end demand was expected to recover. Besides, several private units took maintenance intensively in China, tightening China’s PBR supply. The PBR price stayed high, highlighting the price advantage of imported resources, boosting the sentiment of import traders. Therefore, the PBR import volume rebounded significantly in March. As seen from the trade partners, was mainly in the import volume of PBR from Russia.
From the perspective of trade partners in March, the import volume of PBR from Russia, South Korea and U.A.E. ranked first, second and third respectively. Therein, the import volume of PBR from Russia reached around 6,691.86mt, up 534.10% Y-O-Y and accounting for 29.25% of the total. South Korea ranked second. The import volume of PBR from South Korea was around 4,847.48mt, down 5.5% Y-O-Y and taking up 21.19% of the total. The import volume of PBR from U.A.E. was around 2,520mt, up 900% and accounting for 11.01% of the total. The import volume of PBR from Russia increased by 232.06% M-O-M, while that from U.A.E. moved up by 900% M-O-M.
The import volume of PBR from Russia ranked first. On the one hand, the price of PBR imported from Russia was relatively low. According to GACC, the average import price of PBR from Russia was RMB 1189.61/mt, which had some cost advantage. On the other hand, there was some entreport trade in the market, driving up the import volume.
The exports changed slightly.
According to GACC, the PBR export volume was 14,128.24mt, down 0.98% M-O-M but up 122.07% Y-O-Y. From January to March, the total export volume reached 41,063.86mt, up 124.94% Y-O-Y.
In April and May, the PBR units at Zhejiang Transfar Synthetic Materials, Shandong Wintter Chemical and Shandong Shengyu Chemical are expected to be restarted, and the newly added unit at Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical may come online, driving up China’s PBR supply. However, the demand may fail to match the rising supply. Besides, the PBR prices in late March and early April were low, curbing the operation of import traders. Therefore, the import volume of PBR is estimated to fall in April and May. As for the exports, the PBR export volume is likely to stay high driven by the expected increment in Chinese-made PBR supply and overseas demand.
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