<article><p class="lead">Australia's bitumen imports are on course to drop by an estimated 4.2pc this year as relentless rains through most of 2022 take its toll on roadwork projects. </p><p>Bitumen shipments into Australia stood at 876,778t last year, with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and China being the largest exporters of the road paving material. Malaysia accounted for 21pc or 183,214t of bitumen into Australia, while Singapore and China respectively exported another 19pc and 20pc of total imports into the country. </p><p>But imports from January to July this year has fallen to 489,929t, according to trade data. Based on this, estimated annual imports by the end of 2022 are likely to hover at around 839,878t, 4.2pc lower compared with the previous year. </p><p>"What happened this year I have not seen before," said a key Australian importer, adding that it has been difficult to predict the trend because of persistent poor weather conditions. </p><p>Demand for October shipments into Australia are currently expected to rise as the country is preparing for the summer paving season. Road paving typically progressively picks up through the last quarter of the year and pauses for year-end holidays. </p><p>Some enquiries and trades have commenced for October-loading spot cargoes from Singapore and other regional countries. But a sense of uncertainty continues to cloud expectations about the coming weeks. "It is difficult to [build] stocks due to the weather," the importer added. </p><p>Key states like Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria along the east coast of Australia were especially affected by relentless rain and floods since the start of this year. This has thrown off the completion of road construction projects for most of this year, with some sporadic demand for the reconstruction of roads. Road contractors also worked well into the start of winter in May-June to complete delayed roadworks projects. </p><p>With the impending end of the winter season from October, regional participants are hopeful that demand from this key importing nation will finally last for a sustained period through the summer.</p><p>But Australia is at present facing the La Nina effect, which typically results in wet summers. It is unclear when this weather effect will ebb, as regional sellers and Australian buyers watch from the sidelines. </p><p class="bylines">By Mahua Chakravarty</p></article>
