According to customs statistics, in September 2021, China's polyethylene import volume in the month was 1.2043 million tons, a decrease of 8.12% month-on-month and a year-on-year decrease of 33.78%. Among them, LDPE (Tariff Code No. 39011000) imported about 251,400 tons, a decrease of 6.19% month-on-month and 23.89% year-on-year; HDPE (Tariff Code No. 39012000) imported about 567,800 tons, an increase of 5.08% month-on-month and a decrease of 39.49% year-on-year; LLDPE (Tariff Code 39014020) imported about 385,100 tons, a decrease of 13.36% month-on-month and a year-on-year decrease of 29.98%. From January to September, the cumulative import volume was 11.2618 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 33.78%. The main reasons for the decline in China's polyethylene imports in September are the same and the same as the chain: 1, the impact of the continuous high prices in Europe and the United States, the Supply of goods in the Middle East is more attracted; 2, the Chinese market (July and August) is in the off-season of demand, the price of polyethylene is at a low level, the attraction of goods in the Middle East and Southeast Asia is limited, and the internal and external disks continue to be upside down.
In September 2021, the top three countries with the highest proportion of polyethylene import source countries will still be Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, accounting for 17.53% of Saudi Arabia, 16.62% of Iran, and 13.44% of the United Arab Emirates, which is consistent with the top three countries in August, followed by South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and other countries.
In September, China's imported polyethylene was counted according to the place of registration, and Anhui replaced Hunan to re-enter the top ten positions, and there was no change in the others. The first place is still Zhejiang Province, with imports of 299,200 tons, accounting for 24.8%; Shanghai second, with imports of 224,300 tons, accounting for 18.6%; Guangdong Province, third, with imports of 198,900 tons, accounting for 16.5%; Shandong Province, fourth, with imports of 142,200 tons, accounting for 11.8%; Fujian Province, fifth, imports of 75,400 tons, accounting for 6.3%.
In terms of 9 polyethylene trade methods in 2021, the general trade field accounted for 84.36%, a decrease of 6.5% from the previous month, and the import quantity was about 1.0159 million tons. Import processing trade accounted for 9.06%, down 11.0% month-on-month, and the import volume was about 109,100 tons. Logistics goods in special customs supervision areas accounted for about 5.03%, a decrease of 21.4% month-on-month, and the import quantity was about 60,600 tons.
In terms of exports, statistics show that PE exports in September 2021 were about 46,500 tons, a decrease of 9.53% month-on-month and an increase of 128.81% year-on-year. Specifically divided into products, LDPE exports were about 13,800 tons, down 6.12% month-on-month and 86.49% year-on-year; HDPE exports were about 24,900 tons, down 7.09% month-on-month and 173.63% year-on-year; LLDPE exports were about 0.78 million tons, down 21.21% month-on-month and 212.00% year-on-year. Sea freight rates have repeatedly reached new highs, hindering the pace of exports by domestic traders, coupled with the rapid rise in domestic market prices in late September, and the lagging overseas rally, resulting in a sharp compression of export profits, and the overall export volume in September fell narrowly.
Due to the inversion of internal and external plates and the high price of sea freight, imports will continue to shrink in October. In terms of exports, October is still the peak season of domestic demand, domestic dependence is high, coupled with the strong rise in the domestic market in the early stage of the futures, driven by a sharp rise in futures, domestic producers have raised factory prices, export costs have increased, export profits have been greatly squeezed, export arbitrage opportunities have decreased. It is expected that China's polyethylene exports will rarely see a significant increase in October.