Polymers
Overview
Global polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) supply and demand dynamics are in transition. Supply is increasing much faster than demand and international trade is shifting due to political and economic events. About 40% of the US polyethylene production is exported, mainly to Asian markets, whereas only about 10% of the polypropylene production is exported, mainly to LATAM markets.
Ethylene prices in Asia and Europe are tied to naphtha whereas ethylene prices in the US are impacted by natural gas and ethane supply. Asia is also self-sufficient on PP whereas they must import 25% of their PE demand.
The impacts of other ethylene and propylene derivatives such as PVC or propylene oxide also require assessment.
Our polymer experts will help you determine what trends to track and how to stay competitive in today’s ever-changing global markets.
Latest polymers news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global polymers industry.
EU passes SUPD implementation update
EU passes SUPD implementation update
London, 6 February (Argus) — EU member states voted today in favour of an update to the implementing decision under the Single Use Plastics Directive, including rules for attributing chemically recycled content, Louhane Jacob, a project manager at the French economy and finance ministry, said at the Petcore Europe conference. Member states voted by majority in favour of the rules. The draft decision clarifies mass balance rules and the inclusion of chemical recycling, and establishes rules for fuel-exempt mass balance, with no reports yet of significant changes compared with the leaked draft that circulated in early January . The final text has not yet been published. Minor changes are expected to affect how imported recyclates can count towards recycled content targets. The rules in the leaked draft stated that recycled PET (rPET) produced outside the EU market cannot count towards the 25pc recycled content for PET beverage bottles until after 21 November 2027, when imports from OECD countries will be allowed. Sources indicate that the text voted on today clarifies that all steps of the recycling chain are to take place within the EU until this date. The European Commission will adopt implementing measures without significant delay, and the implementing act will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the EU's Official Journal. The response from market participants was mixed. Some support the exclusion of imports from counting towards recycled content targets, hoping this will stabilise and secure the European PET recycling market over the next couple of years, protecting the market from cheaper import volumes from countries with lower collection and fixed costs. Others want a level playing field for EU and non-EU recyclers, with fair competition and access to affordable, high-quality and compliant recycled materials to achieve sustainability targets. The decision's impact may be limited because reporting requirements are on EU member states and not companies, some participants said. "We are happy, because it is a step needed to maintain circularity in Europe. If this was not approved there would be nothing supporting Europe. Some members and brand owners are not happy but Europe needs a reality check with what is competitiveness. The cost of collection in Europe is so high. There are some countries (outside the EU) that are collecting waste at the cost 10 times lower than the EU. We need to give some time, not forever, for the industry to get balanced," Petcore Europe president Antonello Ciotti said. The rules will help secure the chemical recycling market in Europe and may stimulate further investment and progress on projects because they are a move towards chemically recycled material counting towards recycled content targets, some market participants said. "Today is a major step forward for circular plastics because it puts in a clear harmonised mass balance approach for recycled content... this clarity in rules will support investments and further capacity in Europe", Chemical Recycling Europe chairman Valentijn De Neve said. "The European preference also shows a strong signal that there is support to make this a European competitive market and we look forward to the next steps to use this framework also for the Packaging and Packaging Waste regulation (PPWR)", he said. Rules for allocating chemically-recycled content by mass balance for the more wide-ranging recycled content requirements in PPWR — due to come into force in 2030 — will need to be confirmed independently. But many in the industry expect those agreed under the SUPD to act as a precedent in the decision process. But non-governmental organisation Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) was much less supportive. "If the main points remain the same, including the same allocation rules with a fuel-use exemption model, we would not be able to support the text," said Lauriane Veillard, ZWE policy expert on chemicals recycling and plastic-to-fuels. By Chloe Kinner, Will Collins and Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Eastman raises rPET output
Eastman raises rPET output
Houston, 30 January (Argus) — US recycling company Eastman's Kingsport, Tennessee, molecular recycling facility had its strongest year for chemical recycling in 2025, producing more than 2.5 times the amount of recycled content that it produced in 2024. The Kingsport facility generated approximately $60mn in incremental earnings in 2025 compared with 2024, as chemically recycled materials saw increased use from major brands including Pepsi. Eastman expects that momentum to continue into 2026 and projects about $39mn in additional circular economy earnings as rPET contract volumes increase and demand for chemically recycled content strengthens. "We are really the long-term solution to chemical recycling," said Mark Costa, board chair and chief executive officer. He added that mechanical recycling yields remain low because the process only cleans 25-35pc of clear bottles. Mechanical rPET degrades faster than expected, causing yellowing, graying, and even structural issues such as bottle collapse during case stacking, the company said. Eastman plans to expand the Kingsport facility's production capacity by 130pc to increase supply growth while development of a second chemical plant remains paused. The second facility is on hold following the loss of a US Department of Energy grant in June 2025. However, the Kingsport expansion and improved efficiency will allow Eastman to continue scaling chemical recycling production while maintaining strong cash flow. The company generated nearly $1bn in operation cash flow in 2025, reinforcing its ability to continue investing in circular technology despite market uncertainty. By Dona Davis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU rPET more positive in 2026: Petcore
EU rPET more positive in 2026: Petcore
London, 23 January (Argus) — Argus spoke to Petcore Europe president Antonello Ciotti this week to discuss the outlook for 2026 and his views on the EU's response to challenges facing the recycling industry ahead of the Petcore Europe conference in Rome on 5-6 February. After a challenging year in 2025, what progress has been made since the last Petcore conference in terms of the market outlook? I must feel positive about 2026. We see the first steps for the institutions to be going in the right direction. For me, the worst part should be behind us. There has been recognition of the status of crisis for the industry. The EU institutions are more willing to support the markets and the direction taken so far with the latest Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) draft and Winter Package are introducing corrections in the right direction. So at least a line has been drawn and we move towards more clarity. At an institutional level, there has been a shift in the understanding of the crisis that the European markets are in. Higher energy costs still remain obstacles to growth in the virgin (vPET) and rPET markets. Higher energy costs and higher collection costs and disparity with regions outside Europe represent a competitive gap that is difficult to be managed by the EU industry. Legislators thought that European industry could survive by compensating lower raw material costs of the importers through more efficient technology. Today, the global technology has now caught up and balanced it out. For recyclers, the disparity is twofold because they have higher energy costs but also higher collection costs. The cost of collection in Europe can be €450/t plus. When you compare this with the cost of collection in Egypt, India or even China, there is absolutely no parity, and legislators are realising this. You mentioned an updated implementing decision for the SUPD is currently in discussion with member states, under which recyclates produced in OECD countries would automatically become eligible to count towards recycled content targets from November 2027. Do you think that opening the door to imports is a correct or necessary step? The SUPD so far has ended up supporting the growth of collection and recycling outside Europe. By 2026, it is important that European capacity of rPET and vPET is not reduced further. The SUPD latest draft clarifies more detail and restricts imports from counting towards recycled content targets until 2027. So we expect that demand will improve for the EU recyclers. Also, the European Commission is working on new HS trading codes for PET flake and rPET pellets, separate to the one of vPET, and we hope to see this implemented by the end of the first quarter. This will make it much clearer to monitor imports and to check that material complies with the EU standards defined for food grade. These changes are going in the right direction for the industry. Is this change meaningful, given that imports still need to meet the other requirements for EU food contact applications such as 1616? It is almost impossible to confirm that the imported PET flakes comply with the strict legislation that European recyclers must comply with — separate collection of the bottles collected and 95pc of the collected containers coming from food application. Reliable certification is key for this, and certification is something Petcore is considering entering the field of. More and more certifications will be required to protect European consumers as the regulation comes in. How much does Europe need imports to meet its recycled content goals? According to our data, there is no need for imported volumes to meet the recycled content levels. There is enough overall European capacity to meet the 2030 requirements. There have been some recyclers forced to shut down, but this capacity is idle and the lines are quite new — 10-15 years old maximum. So this capacity could be easily restored. Then it depends on how brands move with exceeding these recycled content targets. But we need to remember that back in 2018, the big brands pushed for higher and higher recycled content, well above the EU target, so recyclers invested heavily to match this increasing demand. The price of recycled material jumped a lot. Then, with the fall of vPET prices due to heavy competition, among other things, the brands realised that that amount of recycled content (up to 100pc) did not make economic sense as the end-users were not paying the cost of this higher rPET content in the bottles. Due to the recent closures and the passage of time, the situation can now equilibrise a bit. If more investment is required, European recyclers are willing and will be able to add new capacity. To start a new recycling plant requires 6-12 months at the most. Italian recyclers took the step to halt collections from sorting centres in late 2025, to compel their government to provide more regulatory support. Do you see the potential for similar action in other countries, or even across the EU as a whole, if the EU's Winter Package of support measures is not seen to be sufficient? The commission and the authorities in various EU member states have understood the crisis in the recycling industry, and are taking action. The situation in Italy at the end of last year was a cry for support, and it was well understood by the authorities, because if recyclers stop, it basically stops the whole value chain circularity. It is important that the authorities realise the importance of a strong local industry to reach circularity. What specific measures are expected to be included in the Circular Economy Act that the EU says it will release in 2026, and what non-negotiables do you want to see? The fact that Europe needs a strong manufacturing industry, both for vPET and rPET, is non-negotiable. I wanted to highlight the Critical Chemicals Alliance. I attended the opening session on 13 January in Brussels, where they realised that in Europe in the past couple of years, more than 7mn t of manufacturing capacity has somehow disappeared. This alliance is raising a cry for help to all of the value chain for support for European production. The Covid-19 pandemic proved how important European supply is — otherwise you fall into the hands of importers with prices on a roller coaster and no reliability of supply. There are four sub-groups to this alliance — one to identity critical molecules and sites, one focusing on trade, one on lead and one on modernisation and investment. Petcore Europe is going to advocate for support across the entire European PET value chain. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EcoCeres Malaysia sells first bionaphtha to LG Chem
EcoCeres Malaysia sells first bionaphtha to LG Chem
Singapore, 23 January (Argus) — Hong Kong-based biofuels producer EcoCeres has exported the first bionaphtha produced at its 420,000 t/yr biofuels facility in Johor, Malaysia, to South Korean chemical company LG Chem, it said today. This follows the export of EcoCeres' first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) cargoes from the plant in mid-December . The bionaphtha cargo was 2,000t of International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus-certified product, delivering to South Korea in January. In 2025, LG Chem agreed to buy a total of 4,000t of bionaphtha from EcoCeres in 2026 at a fixed price, with the second cargo expected to be delivered during the second half of 2026, a market source said. Bionaphtha is a byproduct of producing biofuels hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) pathway. Yields vary, but can range at 5-10pc when maximising HVO output, and 10-25pc when maximising SAF production at a plant. Bionaphtha plays a small role in gasoline blending to meet renewables in transport targets in Europe. But in Asia, it is typically used as a drop-in alternative feedstock to fossil naphtha for producing low-carbon chemicals, driven by voluntary demand. EcoCeres' bionaphtha enables up to 90pc reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, against a fossil fuel comparator of 94g CO2 equivalent/MJ, the company said. LG Chem is one of the largest bionaphtha buyers and bio-chemicals producers in the region. It began commercial production of bio-based phenol and acetone in July 2022 , and has since added products including based plastics bio-ABS and bio-poly olefin and bio-acrylic acid. Argus last assessed ISCC Plus-certified bionaphtha at $1,925/t cfr northeast Asia on 22 January. Prices have risen by $45/t since the start of the year to more than a two-year high. The uptrend has been driven by tighter supply on regional outages and a price-driven pivot to HVO over SAF production lowering byproduct yields, while demand from chemical producers has stayed firm. By Lauren Moffitt Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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