Find out why polyethylene imports and exports fell in December
According to customs statistics, in December 2023, China's polyethylene imports in the month of 1.1681 million tons, a decrease of 4.20% from the previous month, an increase of 6.95%. Among them, LDPE (tax code 39011000) imported about 263,600 tons, a decrease of 5.425% from the previous quarter, an increase of 6.12%; HDPE (tax code 39012000) imported about 470,900 tons, a decrease of 2.71% from the previous quarter, an increase of 16.73%; LLDPE (tax code 39014020) imported about 433,600 tons, a decrease of 5.04% from the previous quarter and 1.54% from the same period last year. Demand in India and Southeast Asia improved compared with the previous period, the pressure of overseas resources flowing into China was reduced, coupled with the logistics delay caused by the previous Chinese acquisition situation and the drought in the Panama Canal, the Red Sea incident and the sudden impact of extremely cold weather, the port volume of resources to China in December declined from the previous month, the amount of imported resources was not large, and the port inventory was reduced.
In December 2023, the proportion of the top ten source countries of polyethylene imports changed slightly, and India squeezed into the top ten. Despite the more obvious decline, the United States still occupies the first place, with a total import of 212,000 tons, a decrease of 22.60% from the previous quarter, accounting for 18.15%; Saudi Arabia ranked second, with a total import of 195,200 tons, a decrease of 10.99% from the previous quarter, accounting for 16.71%; The third place was the United Arab Emirates, with a total import of 131,800 tons, an increase of 6.12% from the previous quarter, accounting for 11.28%. Four to ten are Iran, South Korea, Singapore, the cartels, Thailand, Russia and India.
In December, China's imported polyethylene statistics according to the registration place, Zhejiang Province continued to be the first, imports of 307,300 tons, accounting for 26.31%; Shanghai came second, with imports of 249,800 tons, accounting for 21.39%; Guangdong Province third, the import volume of 174,500 tons, accounting for 14.94%; Shandong Province ranked fourth, with imports of 152,100 tons, accounting for 13.02%; Fujian, Jiangsu, Tianjin, Hebei, Beijing and Anhui ranked fourth to tenth.
In December, China's polyethylene import trading partners, the general trade accounted for 83.96%, a decrease of 5.16% from the previous month, and the number of imports was about 980,700 tons. Import processing trade accounted for 9.82%, an increase of 2.32% from the previous month, and the number of imports was about 114,700 tons. Logistics goods in the special customs supervision area accounted for about 4.87%, a decrease of 8.23% from the previous quarter, and the number of imports was about 56,900 tons.
In terms of exports, statistics show that the export volume of polyethylene in December 2023 was 57,600 tons, a decrease of 12.92% from the previous month and an increase of 3.07% year-on-year. Specific products, LDPE exports of about 17,800 tons, a decrease of 17.04% quarter-on-quarter, 2.08% year-on-year; HDPE exports of 26,500 tons, a decrease of 19.70 tons from the previous quarter, a decrease of 2.10%; LLDPE exports of about 13,300 tons, an increase of 13.91% quarter-on-quarter and 25.11% year-on-year. December is in the traditional off-season, demand is expected to weaken, superimposed overseas demand is weak, and the overall export volume has decreased.
In January, the geopolitical situation is still affecting the European region, some ship freight prices rose, the United States foreign offers rose, the willingness of businesses to take over declined, and China is approaching the Spring Festival, the expectation of diminishing demand, the attraction of imported goods has been reduced, importers to a certain extent reduced the export intention of the domestic market, is expected to fall in January imports. In terms of exports, the US dollar exchange rate is fluctuating down, the renminbi is appreciating, China's PE export opportunities are reduced, coupled with some downstream production enterprises before the Spring Festival holiday to stock up, the overall supply pressure is small, and the export volume is expected to fluctuate slightly.
