China's imports of base oil stood at 107,900 tonnes in February, slumping by 45.53% month-on-month, data from the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) showed. The drop was attributed to waning domestic demand during the Spring Festival holiday in February, especially some end-users and traders replenished or stocked up goods ahead in January.
The combined imports in the first two months reached 305,900 tonnes, rising slightly by 0.67% from a year earlier, the customs data showed.
2023-2024 China Base Oil Imports
Source: GACC, OilChem
For supplying countries, the imports, mainly coming from Singapore, South Korea, Qatar, Taiwan (China) and Indonesia, reached a total of 99,600 tonnes, accounting for 92.3% of China's total base oil imports of the month.
Base Oil Imports by Country of Origin
Country |
Imports (t) |
YoY Chg |
Import Proportion |
Singapore |
38,562.5 |
14.7% |
35.7% |
South Korea |
31,728.3 |
-49.1% |
29.4% |
Qatar |
13,966.7 |
-52.3% |
12.9% |
Taiwan (China) |
11,992.8 |
120.2% |
11.1% |
Indonesia |
3,343.0 |
5.3% |
3.1% |
Thailand |
2,824.2 |
-15.1% |
2.6% |
Japan |
2,467.2 |
-9.0% |
2.3% |
Malaysia |
1,511.5 |
-43.8% |
1.4% |
Finland |
737.5 |
61.3% |
0.7% |
Total |
107,874.7 |
-29.2% |
100.0% |
Source: GACC, OilChem
China's net imports of base oil were 100,900 tonnes in February, with a growth rate of -43.96%, down 69.46 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the net imports were decreasing at present.
2023-2024 Base Oil Net Imports Growth Rate
Source: OilChem
On the other hand, China exported 6,978 tonnes of base oil in February, slumping 61.3% month-on-month, the customs data showed, because domestic refineries did not reach full loads in February and the export price increased by 9.46% from the prior month. Total exports in the first two months reached 25,000 tonnes, rising 12.1% from a year ago.
2023-2024 China Base Oil Exports
Source: GACC, OilChem
Looking ahead, China's base oil imports are projected to jump 57% month-on-month to 170,000 tonnes in March, as the resumption of work and production from the Spring Festival holiday will drive up importers' buying in March, while the exports will rise slightly to 8,000 tonnes.
Written by Sunny Fang, fss@oilchem.net
Edited by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com