Asian aromatics head to overseas markets

Asia represents a major market for aromatics. It accounts for the greater part of world demand for benzene and paraxylene (PX). It also has a huge supply capacity, serving as an exporter. One Asian PX producer has embarked on nearly unprecedented exports to the US. Asia accounts for 53% and 83% of g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ICIS Chemical Business 2016-04, Vol.40 (2), p.32
Main Author: Iwasaki, Junichi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Hydrocarbons
International trade
Styrene
Supply & demand
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Asia represents a major market for aromatics. It accounts for the greater part of world demand for benzene and paraxylene (PX). It also has a huge supply capacity, serving as an exporter. One Asian PX producer has embarked on nearly unprecedented exports to the US. Asia accounts for 53% and 83% of global demand for benzene and PX, respectively. Demand for benzene feedstock has grown in China because domestic capacity has been expanded for methylene diphenyl di-isocyanate, styrene and caprolactam. China is a net importer of benzene, while Japan, Soputh Korea, India and Thailand are all net exporters. South Korean benzene accounted for half of China's imports. Volumes from South Korea exceeded 120,000 tonne in April, but dropped sharply after July and were only 6,000 tonne in December. Exports from South Korea to the US held steady, in contrast to the fall to China and, as a result, the supply-demand balance in Asia was maintained.
ISSN:1937-5786
1750-1512