PP imports and exports in 2023

I. PP import in 2023

According to customs statistics, in 2023, China imported 4.1171 million tons of PP, down 8.72% from the same period of 2022 (4.5102 million tons). Of all imports, homo PP imports totaled 2.6972 million tons, co PP 1.2731 million tons, ra co PP for 146.8kt. Import volume peaked in Feb at 392.5kt, and bottomed in Apr at 262.8kt.

 

 

1. Homo PP import

According to customs statistics, in 2023, China imported 2.6972 million tons homo PP, down 8.02% from the same period of 2022.

 

Terms of trade		2022 imports   (KG)		2022 trade   volume (USD)	2023 imports   (KG)	2023 trade   volume (USD)
General trade	1941025054		2309749931		1801787132	1848739836
Feed Processing Trade	633954493		845865494		473420828	541187252
Customs Special Regulation Area Logistics Goods	289388094		327023247		366866757	339442828
Processing trade	56055368		63370108		35125477	39497300
Entry and exit goods in and out of the premises bonded	10262931		14010451		17587968	19273918
other	1544412		5006586		1690998	4747224
Border Trade	/		/		710051	355028
total	2932230352		3565025817		2697189211	2793243386

 

From the perspective of trading modes, imports of Homo PP were mainly based on general trades and feed processing trade in 2023, accounting for 66.8% and 17.55% respectively, among which, the proportion of general trade increases compared with 2022, and the proportion of feed processing trade decreases compared with 2022.

 

 

From the perspective of trading partners, imports of Homo PP in 2023 were mainly come from South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, China Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Russia, and other countries and regions. Among them, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates remained in the top two positions, while Japan rose from fourth to third, and Saudi Arabia fell from third to fourth.

 

 

In terms of locations of importers and exporters, the corporation registered locations of Homo PP import are mainly concentrated in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Jiangsu and other provinces (cities), and the import share accounted for nearly 80% of the total import volume.

 

2. Co PP import

According to customs statistics, in 2023, China imported 1.2731 million tons of co-polymer PP, down 9.54% on the year.

 

terms of trade	2022 imports (KG)	2022 trade volume (USD)	2023 imports (KG)	2023 trade volume (USD)
General trade	1042146665	1.40E+09	937988836	1079271198
Feed Processing Trade	172742685	227002209	169392711	191756562
Customs   Special Regulation Area Logistics Goods	145523768	163925867	138050507	140948009
Processing trade	34232274	39077171	21701723	20397937
Entry and   exit goods in and out of the premises bonded	12580287	20146145	5881675	8157706
others	98116	277349	112516	269754
Customs   special supervision area import equipment	13175	39767	/	/
total	1407336970	1845000000	1273127968	1440801166

 

From the perspective of trading modes, imports of Co PP in 2023 were mainly dominated by general trade and feed processing trade. However, compared with Homo PP imports, the proportion of general trade was larger, reaching 73.68%.

 

 

From the perspective of trading partners, imports of Co PP were mainly come from Singapore, China Taiwan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and other countries and regions, of which Singapore, China Taiwan and South Korea have been in the top three for a long time, with a total proportion of nearly 60%. Among them, South Korea fell to the third place.

 

3. Ra co-PP import

According to customs statistics, in 2023, China imported 146.8kt of Ra co-PP, down 7.18% on the year, and the import volume peaked in Mar and bottomed in Jun.

 

II. PP export in 2023

According to customs statistics, in 2023, China exported 1.3123 million tons of PP, up 3.22% from the same period of 2022 (1.2714 million tons). Of all imports, homo PP imports totaled 1.1490 million tons, co PP 135.4kt, ra co PP for 27.9kt. In Mar, PP export reached the highest single month volume at 167.9kt, and in Jan, it was the lowest at 48.2kt.

 

 

Among PP, the export volume of homo PP still accounts for a large number, while the export volume of co PP and ra PP is relatively small, and the change of the total export volume of PP is mainly reflected in the export volume of homo PP.

 

Trading partner	Exports (KG)	Trade volume (USD)	Average import price (USD/ton)	Percentage
Viet Nam	186148185	245704925	1320	16.20%
Indonesia	91354531	99066105	1084	7.95%
Bangladesh	89217612	90721806	1017	7.76%
Brazil	70058299	72488651	1035	6.10%
Philippines	61655395	68972552	1119	5.37%
India	60843231	63110836	1037	5.30%
Thailand	58971835	73007595	1238	5.13%
Pakistan	48702356	50890111	1045	4.24%
Peru	43155197	42482227	984	3.76%
others	438909225	579704471	1321	38.20%
total	1149015866	1386149279	1206

 

Taking Homo PP as an example, in terms of destination, export source of goods mainly flowed to Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Indonesia, and Philippines), South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan) and South America (Brazil, Peru). The corporation registered locations of exports were mainly concentrated in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, and the export share of the three provinces accounts for 58.15% of the total export volume, which was higher than that in 2022.

 

III. PP import dependence

With the release of new production capacity, China domestic production increased year-on-year. With the change in China domestic and foreign supply and demand patterns, imports decreased significantly, while exports increased. In 2023, the import dependence was only 11.21%, lower than 13.4% in the same period in 2022.

 

 

In 2024, there are still a large number of planned new startups in the domestic market. The release of new production capacity will inevitably create a new supply/demand balance. In 2024, can the overseas market be further opened up and can the import dependence of PP be further reduced while ensuring domestic demand?