In China, new polyethylene(PE) facilities have started up one after another and the dependence on imported polyethylene is falling. The quantity of imported polyethylene in June was 1.04 mil mt, down 43.28% from the corresponding period of the previous year. Cumulative imports from January to June decreased 12.39% on year.

Supply/demand of PE, however, is not seen to be tight since demand for derivative products is recently weak and several new facilities are scheduled to be launched in the second half of this year. As COVID-19 is still spreading abroad and PE facilities are not operating normally in many countries, demand for imported cargoes continues to be seen. PE exports from China in June were 41,700mt, up 128.28 % on year. Sources expect that exports may expand further from August onwards.

The launch schedule for new PE facilities in China is as follows: