Polypropylene (PP) is being offered from China into key global markets, in a rare occurrence that indicates the shift in world trade flows.
PP-based cargoes from manufacturers in China have been offered to southeast Asia, South America and the US. China is typically an importer of PP, which it buys from the Middle East, India and southeast Asia.
But recent capacity additions in China, particularly at coal-to-olefins (CTO) projects, are shifting the balance.
New coal-based PP projects scheduled to come on stream in 2019 include Ningxia Baofeng's No. 2 unit and Zhong'an United Coal Chemical, which have combined capacity of 650,000 t/yr.
New methanol-to-olefins (MTO) and propane dehydrogenation (PDH) projects are also due to add to China's PP capacity this year.
Jiutai Energy, an MTO project in Inner Mongolia, will add 320,000 t/yr of PP capacity in 2019, while the Juzhengyuan PDH project in Guangdong will bring another 600,000 t/yr of PP capacity on line soon.
PP raffia offers in China were at 8,500-8,600 yuan/t ($1,230-1,244/t) on 21 May.
