Butanone: a brief analysis of my country's butanone export from January to October

Butanone: a brief analysis of my country's butanone export from January to October

According to the export data in 2022, the domestic export volume of butanone from January to October totaled 225,600 tons, an increase of 92.44% compared with the same period last year, reaching the highest level in the same period in the past six years. Among them, only the export in February was lower than last year, and the exports in January, March, April, May, and June were all higher than the same period last year. The reason for the sharp increase in exports compared to last year is that because the international epidemic situation continues to ferment in 2021, especially in Southeast Asia and other regions, the start-up load of butanone downstream factories is low, which limits the demand for butanone. Moreover, foreign butanone plants are operating normally, and there is no plant maintenance, and foreign supply is relatively stable, so the export volume of butanone was sluggish last year. In the first half of this year, affected by the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the shortage of supply in Europe due to the tight weather caused the price to skyrocket, and the price gap with the domestic market widened. Affected by the shutdown of two butanone plants of Tonen Chemical, overseas supply has tightened and demand has shifted to the Chinese market.

In terms of comparative prices, the average monthly export price of methyl ethyl ketone from January to October 2022 will be above US$1,539.86/ton, an increase of US$444.16/ton compared with the same period last year, and an overall upward trend.

From the perspective of export trading partners, in 2022, China's butanone exports from January to October will mainly go to countries such as East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States, and the export pattern is basically the same as in previous years. The top three countries are mainly South Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia, accounting for 30%, 15%, and 15% respectively. Exports to Southeast Asia accounted for about 37% of the total. In recent years, with the expansion of exports to Central and South Asia, Europe and the United States, the export of methyl ethyl ketone has continued to make breakthroughs, and the export scale has continued to expand.

According to the statistics of the export registration place, in 2022, the region with the largest export volume of butanone in my country is Shandong Province, with an export volume of 158,519.9 tons, accounting for 70%. In this area, there are Qixiang Tengda 260,000 tons/year butanone plant with the largest butanone production capacity in my country and Shandong Dongming Lishu 40,000 tons/year plant. Among them, Shandong Qixiang is the main butanone exporter in China. Followed by Guangdong Province, the export volume was 28,618 tons, accounting for about 13%.

Since the beginning of this year, the export volume of methyl ethyl ketone has performed well, especially in the first half of the year, the export volume has increased significantly, which has significantly boosted the domestic market. It is expected that the export volume of methyl ethyl ketone in 2022 will hit a record high.