China’s total PE imports in Jan-Feb hit fresh record high

China’s total PE imports in Jan-Feb hit fresh record high

China’s PE imports hit a fresh record high in January and February, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. The customs office combined data for the first two months of the year to account for the distortions of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which this year was in mid-February.

China was the only major economy that reported a growth for 2020, managing to expand by 2.3%. The country’s success in controlling COVID-19, stimulus measures and low lending rates after the lockdown was lifted in April boosted its share of global trade and investment.

Reflecting this, the country’s cumulative PE imports hit a new record high in the first two months of 2021, overtaking the 2019 volumes.

Total PE imports in the January-February period posted an annual increase of 8.3% to move above 2.5 million tons, the highest figure in ChemOrbis Import Statistics dating back to 2001.

Feb PE imports fall on holiday lull but Jan-Feb total imports still high

China’s February PE imports marked decreases compared to January as trading activities slowed down amid Chinese New Year celebrations.

Millions of Chinese workers travel back to their hometown to spend their holiday traditionally. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was less rush in this year’s holiday travel.

On the other hand, cumulative PE imports in the first two months of 2021 were still up in a yearly comparison. Among all PE products, China’s HDPE imports posted a slight yearly fall in this period while LDPE and LLDPE imports recorded gains.

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HDPE

Total HDPE imports in the January-February period posted a slight decrease of 3.3% from the same period of last year to be reported at 1,097,065 tons.

Within this period, Saudi Arabia was the top HDPE supplier to China with more than 230,000 tons. Iran followed Saudi Arabia with 202,838 tons.

LDPE

Total LDPE imports in the January-February period, on the other hand, increased around 24% on a yearly basis to reach 544,676 tons.

Iran remained the top LDPE supplier to China with nearly 125,000 tons.

LLDPE

LLDPE imports in the first two months of 2021, meanwhile, jumped 17% when compared to the same period of last year to be reported at 920,985 tons.

Within this period, Saudi Arabia was the top supplier to China with more than 200,000 tons, while Singapore was the second top supplier with 174,046 tons.