April PE imports to Ukraine continued to decrease and went down to 17,500 tonnes from 19,500 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies reduced their purchasing of HDPE because of weak demand for finished products in the domestic market. Overall PE imports reached 76,800 tonnes in January-April 2017, compared to 87,500 tonnes a year earlier, only shipments of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) increased.
The structure of PE imports looked the following way over the stated period.
HDPE imports to the Ukrainian market dropped last month, oversupply of polymer in the market and weak demand for finished products forced local companies to reduce their purchasing in foreign markets. April imports were 7,700 tonnes, compared to 9,000 tonnes in March. Overall HDPE imports reached 24,000 tonnes in the first four months of 2017 versus 43,500 tonnes a year earlier, shipments of film grade and injection moulding HDPE fell by almost a third, demand for PE in the pipes extrusion sector subsided by 20%.
April LDPE imports fell to 4,100 tonnes from 4,500 tonnes a month earlier, a major reduction in export quotas from Russian and European producers was the main reason for lower shipments. Overall LDPE imports exceeded 20,400 tonnes over the stated period, down by 10% year on year.
Last month's imports of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were 4,300 tonnes, compared to 4,100 tonnes in March, with films producers accounting for a slight increase in demand. Overall LLDPE imports grew to 19,200 tonnes in January-April 2017 from 18,400 tonnes a year earlier. Producers of film and cabling and wiring products accounted for the main increase in demand.
Imports of other PE grades, including EVA, totalled 5,400 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 3,000 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC