Ethylene glycol: brief analysis of import and export from January to June 2022

Ethylene glycol: brief analysis of import and export from January to June 2022

From January to June 2022, my country imported a total of 4,021,300 tons of ethylene glycol, a decrease of 316,200 tons compared with the same period last year. Among them, the import volume in January was the highest, reaching 831,300 tons, and the import volume in May was the lowest, which was 551,700 tons. At the beginning of this year, the international crude oil soared to a high level for many years, and the oil-to-ethylene glycol industry suffered serious profit losses, with the highest loss reaching US$400/ton. Therefore, a large number of domestic and foreign plants were shut down, and the import volume declined significantly. At the same time, due to the second quarter The domestic epidemic has repeated and the arrival of cargoes has also been affected. As the epidemic has been brought under control, the import volume has rebounded in June, but overall, the import volume in the first half of this year is relatively small.

Ethylene glycol imports by country from January to June 2022

In the first half of the year, Saudi Arabia ranked first in imports, accounting for 52.52% of total imports, Canada ranked second with 12.03%, and Taiwan ranked third with 10.56%. Since March, under the influence of profit losses, the ethylene glycol plants in Japan and South Korea have parked more. In May, Japan's import volume was zero, and the import volume from South Korea also decreased by 76% compared with April.

In terms of exports, the export volume of ethylene glycol from January to June was 19,600 tons, a decrease of 80,400 tons compared with the same period last year. Among them, the export volume in January was the highest at 8,543 tons, and the export volume in February was the least at 209 tons.

On the whole, the import volume and export volume in the first half of this year have declined significantly compared with last year. However, due to the high crude oil price, it is difficult to restore profits in the short term, and domestic and foreign installations will remain in a low operating state. It is expected that import and export volume in the second half of the year will be difficult rebounded sharply.