KIEV: Imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into the Ukrainian market dropped in the first quarter of 2016 by 4% year on year, totalling 26,400 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope report on Wednesday.
The share of Chinese PET reached 56% in Q1 imports. Imports from China grew by more than 2.4 times compared to the same quarter a year earlier to almost 15,000 tonnes. Yisheng Petrochemical became China’s largest PET supplier in the first quarter (5,400 tonnes versus 330 tonnes in Q1 2015). Imports of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang, Shanghai Hengyi Polyester and Zhejiang Wankai’s grades also increased. Imports of Lithuanian PET of NeoGroup were almost 9,000 tonnes, down by 16% compared to imports in the first quarter a year earlier.
Imports of Belarusian PET fell significantly. Ukraine imported 800 tonnes of Belarusian PET in the first quarter 2016 compared to 2,500 tonnes a year earlier. This year’s lower supplies of Mogilevkhimvolokno’s PET were due to the plant’s shutdown in February-March and, as a consequence, the absence of exports.
