(ICIS) -- China's demand for prilled and powdered polypropylene (PP) has been slowing, with the full-year import volumes of the polymer expected to fall while its domestic production will have a moderate increase, industry sources said on Tuesday.
Consumption of the material from downstream industries weakened significantly amid a domestic credit crunch, as China continues with its monetary tightening policy to tame inflation, they said.
China's demand for PP resins is estimated to grow by 5.7% this year to 16m tonnes, just about a third of the 15.6% growth recorded last year, according to Chemease, an ICIS service in China.
The country consumed 15.2m tonnes of PP in 2010, of which 4.8m tonnes or about 32% were imported, data from Chemease showed. This year, Chemease expects China to take in 3% less PP from abroad at 4.66m tonnes.
Meanwhile, China's PP output is estimated to rise by 10% to 11.4m tonnes this year, slowing from a 28% increase in output last year at 10.3m tonnes, according to Chemease. Of the total PP output in 2010, China exported 940,000 tonnes, the data showed.