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MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's butadiene
imports in December jumped 88.5% from a month earlier to 24,753 mt, due to
influx of deepsea cargoes, reported S&P
Global with reference to the latest data from Chinese Customs showed Jan.
25.
From a year earlier, the imports dropped 53.1%.
The data
showed that imports from Iran and Europe rose, with traders continuing to move
cargoes to Asia as an arbitrage window remained open.
Imports from the
Netherlands rose 19.5% from a month earlier to 4,743 mt, while imports from Iran
stood at 12,532 mt, almost 10 times compared to 1,500 mt in November, according
to the data.
Meanwhile, China imported 3,150 mt of butadiene from the US
in December. The cargo inflow from the US to China surprised the market as an
arbitrage window has been closed.
Market sources said an unplanned
downstream rubber plant shutdown there prompted exports from the US to Asia.
Meanwhile, butadiene imports in 2020 jumped 56.8% from a year earlier to
455,265 mt, the data showed.
Market sources said despite higher imports
in 2020, China's appetite for import cargoes would likely come down, in line
with rising butadiene production capacity. According to Platts data, China added
around 800,000-830,000 mt/year capacity in 2020.
Trading sources said
Chinese suppliers target to sell their cargoes to end-users in South Korea.
According to the latest customs data in South Korea, South Korea's butadiene
imports from China stood at 25,231 mt, compared to 3,907 mt in 2019.
As
MRC informed
earlier, Yeochun Naphtha Cracking Centre (YNCC) started up its new
butadiene plant in Yeosu, South Korea on 18 January, 2020. The new
plant's capacity is 130,000 mt/year of butadiene.
Butadiene is the
main feedstock for the production of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene
(ABS).
According to ICIS-MRC Price
report, ABS imports into Russia rose in the first eleven months of 2020 by
2% year on year to 32,000 tonnes from 31,300 tonnes a year earlier. South Korean
shipments accounted for 62% (19,900 tonnes) in January-November 2020 versus the
share of 58% (18,200 tonnes) a year earlier. |
