MOSCOW (MRC) -- China imported a record-high 27,207 mt of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from India in June - more than five times compared to 5,174 mt recorded in May - as India accelerated PVC exports amid pandemic-related nationwide lockdown, reported S&P Global with reference to the latest statistics data.
It is a rare move as the Indian PVC market is net short by close to 2 million mt/year.
India started its nationwide lockdown on March 25 and it was initially scheduled to be lifted on May 3, but the government extended the lockdown by another two weeks with new restrictions.
During the lockdown, India's PVC demand plunged, prompting cancellation of PVC deliveries to India. Suppliers had to move their cargoes to China to clear excess supplies.
Looking forward, market sources said China's PVC imports from India would likely slow as India's nationwide lockdown ended early-June.
In total, China's PVC imports for June also stood at a record-high of 172,941 mt, up from 92,254 mt in May, according to the latest statistics.
In other countries, China's PVC imports from the US stood at a three-month high of 23,672 mt, compared to 5,231 mt a month earlier, the statistics showed.
As MRC informed before, Sichuan Jinlu Group has halted operations at its Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) carbide based plant owing to flooding in the region. The company has undertaken an unplanned shutdown at the plant early this week. The exact duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located at Deyang, China, the PVC carbide based plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.
According to MRC's DataScope report, imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Russia totalled 13,800 tonnes in the first half of 2020, up by 5% year on year, whereas exports grew by 7% year on year.
MRC