China saw a 38.01% year-over-year drop in January-June epoxy resin imports and a 64.03% year-over-year rise in exports. This discrepancy was driven by the concurrent factors of rising domestic supply due to the operation of new epoxy resin units in China and weaker-than-expected downstream demand resulting from a low operating rate.
China H1 2023 Epoxy Resin Imports and Exports
Item |
Jan-Jun 2023 |
Jan-Jun 2022 |
Jul-Dec 2022 |
% YoY change |
% MoM change |
Imports |
81,422.21 |
131,337.29 |
89,809.5 |
-38.01% |
-9.34% |
Exports |
91,226.43 |
55,615.09 |
69,801.26 |
-9.34% |
30.69% |
Source: OilChem
Owing to intensified competition resulting from ample supply, China's January-June epoxy resin imports experienced a significant decline of 38.01% year over year, reaching 81,422.21 tonnes, according to the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC). Notably, the highest monthly import volume occurred in March at 14,873.46 tonnes, while the lowest was recorded in April at 11,130.77 tonnes. Conversely, China's epoxy resin exports saw a remarkable increase of 64.03% during the same period, amounting to 91,226.43 tonnes, as Chinese producers turned their focus towards overseas markets to compensate for sluggish domestic demand. The highest monthly export volume occurred in March at 17,601.2 tonnes, while the lowest was recorded in January at 14,109.41 tonnes.
As shown in the figures, it is apparent that China functioned as a net exporter of epoxy resins from January to May 2023. Next, let's delve into the details regarding export:
China H1 2023 Epoxy Resin Exports Breakdown by Country
Source: OilChem
Based on GACC data, Russia emerged as the largest consumer of Chinese epoxy resins, absorbing 19.71% or 17,970.615 tonnes of China's epoxy resin exports during the first half of 2023. In the same period, China supplied a total of 41,957.60 tonnes of epoxy resins, making up 46.01% of China's overall epoxy resin export volume, to its top five consumers, namely Russia, Italy, Thailand, the Netherlands and Brazil.
China H1 2023 Epoxy Resin Exports Breakdown by Province
Source: OilChem
According to GACC data for the first half of 2023, more than 98.8% of Chinese epoxy resins were traded through either general trade or processing trade. General trade remained the dominant trade mode, while processing trade constituted a smaller portion. In terms of provincial contributions, Jiangsu Province stood out as the largest supplier, accounting for 49.57% with a total of 45,204.226 tonnes. The top five exporting provinces were Jiangsu, Hubei, Anhui, Shandong and Shanghai, collectively making up 83% of the total exports, amounting to 76,145.98 tonnes.
Written by Todd Zhu, todd@oilchem.net
Edited by Navy Liu, liuchuanjun@mysteel.com