In South Korea, exports of aromatics have been declining for the past few years. From 2018 to 2023, exports dropped 15%.

Paraxylene (PX) is a major product of South Korean petrochemical markers and its exports account for 13% of total petrochemical export values. The market for derivative purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is sluggish and demand for its feedstock PX is decreasing, which resulted in surplus in supply. Because of this, exports of PX are growing.

PX is mainly exported to China. However, as several PX facilities started up in the country in recent years, China is relying less on imports. At present, China is reportedly the world's largest producer of PX. Under such circumstances, South Korean petrochemical makers strengthen sales to Southeast Asia and the US besides China.

On the other hand, imports of styrene monomer (SM) are rising. While export volumes of SM were 295,000mt in South Korea in 2023, import volumes of SM stood at 775,000mt. In China, many new SM facilities were set up. Import volumes were decreasing and export volumes are increasing in the country. Thus, profitability has been poor for the past few years. In this situation, South Korean petrochemical markers halted production at several SM facilities by last year. The Korean Trade Commission announced on Apr 9 that it would look into anti-dumping tax on SM produced in China.