IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘Republic of Korea – Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) Copolymers In Primary Forms – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

South Korea remains the world’s largest supplier of primary ABS copolymers, accounting for 46% of global exports. Robust demand from China propels the growth of South Korea’s shipments. In the first seven months of 2021, the export value increased by +60% against the same period of 2020. Last year, ABS copolymer exports from Korea reached $2.1B. China, Hong Kong SAR and Turkey constitute the leading importers of Korean ABS plastics. In 2020, the average ABS copolymer export price country’s amounted to $1,521 per tonne, down by -7.9% against the previous year.

South Korea’s ABS Copolymer Exports by Country

South Korea is the world’s largest supplier of primary ABS copolymers, accounting for 46% of global exports. In the first seven months of 2021, South Korea exported 759K tonnes of primary ABS copolymers worth $1.76B, a 60%-increase in value terms against the same period of 2020.

In 2020, ABS copolymer exports from South Korea declined to 1.3M tonnes, approximately mirroring 2019 figures. In value terms, ABS copolymer exports dropped from $2.2B in 2019 to $2.1B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

China (499K tonnes) was the leading destination for ABS copolymer exports from South Korea, accounting for 37% of total exports. Moreover, ABS copolymer exports to China exceeded the volume sent to the second major destination, Hong Kong SAR (120K tonnes), fourfold. Turkey (80K tonnes) ranked third in terms of total exports with a 6% share. In value terms, China ($725M) remains the key foreign market for ABS copolymer exports from South Korea, comprising 35% of total exports. Hong Kong SAR ($178M) occupied the second position in the ranking, with an 8.7% share of total exports. It was followed by Turkey, with a 5.9% share.

In 2020, the average annual growth rate of exports value sent to China totalled +5.2%. Exports to the other significant destinations recorded the following average annual rates of export growth: Hong Kong SAR (-20.4% per year) and Turkey (+3.2% per year).

In 2020, the average ABS copolymer export price amounted to $1,521 per tonne, falling by -7.9% against the previous year. Average prices varied noticeably for the major overseas markets. In 2020, the countries with the highest prices were Mexico ($1,721 per tonne) and the U.S. ($1,663 per tonne), while the average price for exports to China ($1,452 per tonne) and Malaysia ($1,460 per tonne) were amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable growth rate in terms of prices was recorded for supplies to Hong Kong SAR, while the prices for the other significant destinations declined.

Source: IndexBox Platform