MOSCOW: Total imports of high density polyethylene (HDPE) into Russia decreased to about 16,700 tonnes in the first two months of 2016, down 41% compared to the same period of 2015.
The largest decrease occurred for the sector of extrusion coating of large-diameter pipes, according to MRC DataScope.
February imports of HDPE into Russia decreased to 8,000 tonnes, compared with 8,700 tonnes in January. HDPE imports into the Russian Federation totalled about 16,700 tonnes over the first two months of 2016, whereas the last year’s figure was 28,500 tonnes.
The volumes of HDPE imports were affected by low demand for finished products as well as a weak rouble, which makes external purchases unprofitable.
Imports fell in all sectors of consumption, with the largest drop occurred in the sector of polyethylene for extrusion coating of steel pipes of large diameter. Structure of PE production over the reported period looked as follows.
February imports of injection moulding HDPE into the country grew to 3,500 tonnes, compared with 2,600 tonnes in January. The main increase in February imports for PE was from Uzbekistan. Total imports of injection moulding HDPE into Russia decreased to 6,100 tonnes in Jan-Feb 2016, down 10% year on year.
February imports of HDPE for extrusion coating of large-diameter pipes decreased to 1,200 tonnes compared with 1,900 tonnes in January.
During the reporting period, the import of this type of polyethylene was about 3,100 tonnes, while a year earlier this figure exceeded 9,700 tonnes. The growth of domestic production was the main reason for the decline in import volumes.
February imports of HDPE for extrusion blowmoulding into Russia decreased to 1,200 tonnes, compared with 1,400 tonnes in January. Russia’s imports of HDPE for extrusion blowmoulding decreased to 2,600 tonnes in January-February 2016, compared with 5,200 in the same period last year.
February imports of pipe HDPE dropped below 1,000 tonnes compared with 1,400 tonnes in January. Total imports of pipe HDPE into the country were about 2,400 tonnes in the first two months of the year, compared with 3,900 tonnes year on year. Weak demand for pipe products was the main reason for the reduction of imports of pipe PE.
During the period under review the purchase of other types of HDPE were about 2,600 tonnes against 2,900 tonnes year on year.
In the coming months, the purchases of HDPE in foreign markets will remain at a low level. This situation resulted from a serious decline in demand for finished products, as well as problems with customs clearance of polyethylene.
On 16 February, Federal Customs Service (FCS) strengthened its control over the declaration of the imported products. Indicative prices for HDPE (value for tax calculation) ranged from $1,350 to $1,700/tonne, significantly higher than the current actual price.
