China's acrylonitrile exports increase significantly in Jan-Feb, 2021

According to the China Customs, China's acrylonitrile (ACN) exports were 20,665 tons in January-February, 2021, a significant increase of 176% from the same period of 2020. The exports in February were 13,646 tons, reaching an all-time high in a single month.

In January-February 2021, the export destinations of China’s ACN focus on South Korea and India, with a proportion of nearly 100%. The proportion of exports to India increased obviously to 41.65%, with a volume of about 8,600 tons. It was mainly caused by the supply disruption from the United States. Cornerstone, a major acrylonitrile producer in the U.S., declared force majeure on February 1. Its capacity is about 240kta. It usually supplies 5,000-6,000 tons to India every month. Therefore, due to this disruption, India searched the imports from China.

In 2018, Shandong Haili's new ACN unit starts production, and market supply increases, and in 2019, Jiangsu Sailboat Phase II unit is put into operation. In 2020, Zhejiang Petrochemical's unit starts production. In 2021, KoRuhr Phase II, Shenghong Refining and Chemical Integration and Shandong Lihuayi may start up successively. The capacity is expected to increase further, and producers will continue to seek for the opportunity to export.