IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘China – Propene (Propylene) – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights‘. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

China’s propene imports shrank from $2.9B in 2019 to $2B in 2020. In physical terms, purchases fell by -20% y-o-y to 2.5M tonnes. South Korea, Japan and Taiwan constitute the largest supplies, accounting for nearly 80% of China’s propene imports. Last year, all these countries decreased propene exports to China, while Taiwan recorded the most prominent drop in supplies.

China’s Propene Imports

Propene imports into China dropped remarkably to 2.5M tonnes in 2020, which is down by -19.8% on the year before. In value terms, propene imports reduced from $2.9B in 2019 to $2B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

In 2020, South Korea (1.3M tonnes) constituted the largest supplier of propene to China, with a 52% share of total imports. Moreover, propene imports from South Korea exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest supplier, Japan (599K tonnes), twofold. Taiwan (Chinese) (294K tonnes) ranked third in total imports with a 12% share.

In 2020, the volume of purchases from South Korea dropped by -11.7% y-o-y. Imports from Japan and Taiwan reduced by -15.0% y-o-y and -56.7% y-o-y, respectively.

In value terms, South Korea ($1.1B) constituted the largest supplier of propene to China, comprising 52% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Japan ($482M), with a 24% share of total imports. It was followed by Taiwan (Chinese), with an 11% share.

The average propene import price stood at $1,000 per tonne in 2020, approximately mirroring the previous year. Average prices varied noticeably amongst the major supplying countries. In 2020, the highest prices were recorded for prices from Japan ($1,000 per tonne) and Taiwan (Chinese) ($1,000 per tonne), while the price for South Korea ($1,000 per tonne) and the United Arab Emirates ($1,000 per tonne) were amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Japan, while the prices for the other significant suppliers experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Platform