MOSCOW (MRC) -- The overall imports of polyethylene (PE) into the Republic of Belarus decreased by 2% over the first nine months of 2014. The high density polyethylene (HDPE) market showed negative results, while demand for other PE grades increased this year, reported MRC analysts.
September PE imports to Belarus totalled 11,700 tonnes versus 9,400 tonnes a month earlier. The overall PE imports decreased from January to September 2014 to 79,300 tonnes from 81,000 tonnes over the same period a year earlier.
The structure of PE imports to Belarus by grades looks the following way over the said period.
September imports of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) rose to 5,000 tonnes under the pressure of seasonal factors from 4,400 tonnes in August. The overall imports of these PE grades reached 38,100 tonnes from January to September 2014 versus 33,300 tonnes a year earlier. Producers from Saudi Arabia (22,500 tonnes) and Russia (about 5,400 tonnes) are the main PE suppliers to the local market.
HDPE imports rose to 6,600 tonnes in September versus 5,000 tonnes a month earlier. This significant increase in imports was caused by scheduled outages for maintenance at Russian plants, which share exceeds 40% in the local market. The overall HDPE imports to Belarus fell to 41,200 tonnes over the stated period, down by 13.5% year on year.
MRC