China's apparent polypropylene (PP) consumption rose on the month and on the year in August, on the back of a rise in domestic PP output and imports, and a decline in exports.
Apparent PP consumption by 6.1pc from July and by 18pc on the year to 3.32mn t, Argus data show.
Output at domestic PP plants was at 3.06mn t, 5.6pc higher on the month and 21pc higher from a year earlier, according to Argus' data.
China imported 353,651t of PP in August, up by 7.9pc from July but almost flat at 0.7pc lower from August 2022, according to latest customs data. South Korea, Singapore and the UAE were once again the top three suppliers to China in August, accounting for 50pc of Chinese imports.
China exported 93,868t of PP in August, down by 1.9pc from July but rising by 26pc from August 2022, customs data show. Around 73pc of Chinese exports were destined for southeast Asia, south Asia and Latin America.
PP is a key raw material for making engineered plastic parts for automotives and home appliances. This increase in domestic PP demand was mainly driven by 20 polices announced by the Chinese government on 28 July, to stimulate domestic demand in August. These measures included easing restrictions on car purchase, support for people buying their first homes as well as the demand for upgraded housing, among others.
This led to increased output of automobiles, washing machines and colour television sets in August, according to latest data from China's National Bureau of Statistics.
Chinese automobile output totalled 2.51mn units in August, up by 8.1pc on the month and 3.6pc on the year. Washing machine production was at 9.17mn units, up by 26pc from July and 33pc from August 2022. The total output of colour television sets was 17.07mn t, 6.8pc higher from July but 5.3pc lower from August 2022.
