EPS imports to Kazakhstan rise by 10% in Jan-Oct 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of expandable polystyrene (EPS) into Kazakhstan grew in the first ten months of 2019 by 10% year on year, totalling 6,200 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

October EPS imports into the country dropped slightly from September to 799 tonnes from 832 tonnes. Imports of material to Kazakhstan were 509 tonnes in October 2018.

Russia and China were the main importing countries of EPS to Kazakhstan.

Imports of Russian material to the Kazakh market fell in the first ten months of 2019 by 20% year on year: from 5,200 tonnes in January-October 2018 to 4,200 tonnes. The share of EPS imports from Russia in the total shipments to the country decreased significantly in the first ten months of 2019 to 67% from 92% a year earlier.

October shipments of Russian EPS to Kazakhstan were 609 tonnes versus 506 tonnes in September, whereas imports of material were 509 tonnes in October 2018.

At the same time, imports of Chinese material increased by four and a half times in January-October 2019: from 400 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes. The share of Chinese companies in the overall EPS imports to the country grew sharply in the first ten months of 2019 to 32% from 8% a year earlier.

October EPS shipments from China to Kazakhstan slumped by 42% to 190 tonnes from 326 tonnes a month earlier, Chinese material was not imported into the country in October 2018.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of polycarbonate (PC) granules into Belarus rose in the first ten months of 2019 by 16% year on year to 10,000 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was 8,600 tonnes in January-October 2018.

Spain (33%), the Netherlands (23%) and Lithuania (14%) are the main countries-importers of PC into Belarus. The bulk of the imported material is then delivered to Russia.

Including exports of material of 4,500 tonnes from Belarus over the stated period, overall capacity of the domestic market totalled 5,500 tonnes of PC in January-October 2019.

October PC imports to Belarus grew by 42% year on year to 800 tonnes. This figure was at 600 tonnes in October 2018. At the same time, September 2019 imports of material into the country were minimal over the past two years, totalling only 300 tonnes.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of products from polymers grew in November 2019 by 2.7% year on year. However, this figure increased only by 1.8% year on year in the first eleven months of 2019, reported MRC analysts.

According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, November production of unreinforced and non-combined films was 101,700 tonnes, compared to 110,400 tonnes a month earlier. Output of film products grew in January-November 2019 by 9.2% year on year to 1,093,000 tonnes.

Last month's production of non-porous boards, sheets and films dropped to 32,900 tonnes from 33,100 tonnes in October. Thus, overall output of these products reached 284,100 tonnes over the stated period, up by 11.3% year on year.

November production of porous polymer boards, sheets and films was 24,900 tonnes, compared to 27,100 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of these products reached 252,900 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, compared to 282,600 tonnes a year earlier.

November production of plastic bottles and flasks grew to 1,668,000 items from 1,522,000 items a month earlier. Overall output of these plastic products totalled 18,540,000 units in January-November 2019, compared to 19,130,000 units a year earlier.

Last month's production of polymer pipes, hoses and fittings was 49,750 tonnes versus 50,710 tonnes in October. Overall output of these products was 558,100 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 4.3% year on year.

November production of sacks and bags from ethylene polymers reached 2,095,000,000 units, compared to 2,138,000,000 units a month earlier. Overall output of these plastic products totalled 23,418,000,000 units over the stated period, compared to 25,025,000,000 units a year earlier.

Last month's production of linoleum and floor coverings was 13,230,000 square metres, compared to 13,980,000 square metres in October. Overall output of these products totalled 138,470,000 square metres in January-November 2019 versus 123,900,000 square metres a year earlier.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of chemical products dropped by 3.2% in November 2019 month on month.
However, production of basic chemicals increased by 3.6% in the first eleven months of 2019, according to Rosstat's data.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, the largest increase in production volumes on an annualized basis accounted for mineral fertilizers and polymers in primary form. Last month, 255,000 tonnes of ethylene were produced versus 210,000 tonnes in October; by November, Russian producers had completed all their scheduled works. Thus, 2,721,000 tonnes of this olefin were produced in January-November 2019, up by 0.3% year on year.

November production of benzene was 134,000 tonnes, compared to 123,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of this product reached 1,333,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 4.4% year on year.

November production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) were 109,000 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) versus 111,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of caustic soda totalled 1,180,900 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 1,164,500 tonnes a year earlier.

1,953,000 tonnes of mineral fertilizers (in terms of 100% nutrients) were produced in November versus 1,911,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall, Russian plants produced 22,044,000 tonnes of fertilizers in January-November 2019, up by 4.5% year on year.

Last month's production of polymers in primary form decreased to 753,000 tonnes, up 6.7% from October. The low October figure was due to scheduled maintenances at several manufacturers of polyethylene and polypropylene.
Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 7,795,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 4.8% year on year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, has announced its collaboration with Greiner Packaging, a leading European manufacturer of plastic packaging in the food and nonfood sectors, to advance the implementation of recycled polystyrene (PS) used in packaging applications, according to Trinseo's press release.

The joint project aims to demonstrate the circularity of PS by utilizing recycled material to develop and test recycled PS packaging.

As a leader in the advancement of circular solutions for PS, Trinseo is highly engaged in several partnerships and initiatives to close the loop on PS recycling, namely:

- recently announcing a first-of-its-kind PS chemical recycling facility to be built in Europe;
- planning to offer an average of 30% recycled content to customers for PS packaging in Europe by 2025;
- serving as a founding member of Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS), a consortium that explores new methods for PS recycling;
- and partnering with the waste supply chain to help identify new ways to increase the volume and quantity of plastics disposed and recovered through waste separation.

"We are pleased to announce this collaboration with Greiner Packaging and are encouraged by the great momentum it will bring to close the loop with recycled content," said Nicolas Joly, Global Business Director, Polystyrene and Feedstocks at Trinseo. "By increasing the prevalence of polystyrene recycling it further emphasizes our commitment to be a key contributor to achieving full circularity for PS."

"At Greiner Packaging, our vision is to design and form sustainable plastic solutions for a more livable future worldwide," said Gernot Desch, Category Manager Plastics, Greiner Packaging. "We are aware of our responsibility and therefore focus on sustainable actions and solutions for a circular economy at all product groups. With our strategy, we want to show that sustainability and plastics do not conflict with one another."

Full PS circularity is a game changer, offering a unique potential for closed loop recycling - with two fewer steps than recycling of other polymers. Depolymerization is an innovative technology for PS recycling, which has already proven to bring PS waste back into a monomer - unlocking the intrinsic circularity of PS even further. In turn, PS circularity is particularly advantaged as it diverts waste material away from landfills, leading to a reduction in greenhouse gases and harmful emissions.

In North America, Trinseo’s joint venture, AmSty, recently formed a joint venture with Agilyx, named Regenyx LLC, dedicated to fully recycling post-consumer PS materials back into new PS products. Through Regenyx, AmSty is providing customers with PS recycled from a monomer state, from post-consumer waste, known as PolyUsable.

As MRC informed earlier, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price decrease for all polystyrene (PS) grades in Europe. Effective December 1, 2019, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below went down as follows:

-- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) -- by EUR20 per metric ton;
-- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR20 per metric ton.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 411,080 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, which corresponds to the last year's level. October estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics rose by 2% year on year, totalling 46,740 tonnes.

Greiner Packaging is a leading European manufacturer of plastic packaging in the food and nonfood sectors. The company has enjoyed a reputation for outstanding solutions expertise in the fields of development, design, production, and decoration for nearly 60 years. Greiner Packaging responds to the challenges of the market with two business units: Packaging and Assistec. While the Packaging unit stands for innovative packaging solutions, the Assistec unit focuses on producing custom-made technical parts. Greiner Packaging employs a workforce of around 4,800 at more than 30 locations in 19 countries around the world. In 2018, the company generated annual sales revenues of EUR 673 million (including joint ventures), which represents more than one third of Greiner’s total sales.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.6 billion in net sales in 2018, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,500 employees.
MRC