The production & export of China's chemical industry in 2020 1Q

The spread of COVID-19 has severely impacted the global chemical industries, China’s chemical total production declined by 3.4 percent in the first quarter of 2020, and the total import & export of the China’s chemical industry is 166.98 billion USD. Here is more detailed information from the 1Q 2020 Chemical Industry Analysis Report by CPCFI.

· China’s chemical production fell, the decline of major chemicals narrowed

China's production of major chemicals in 1Q 2020

Crude oil production has slowed down, natural gas production has accelerated

The national crude oil output was 48.565 million tons in 1Q, an increase of 2.4% year-on-year, and the growth rate fell by 1.3 percentage points from the previous February; natural gas output was 48.32 billion cubic meters, an increase of 9.1% year-on-year, and the growth rate was 1.2 percentage points faster than the previous February, accounting for the total oil and gas equivalent 49.9%; LNG output was 2.479 million tons, up 6.3% year-on-year.


The total output of chemical fertilizers declined slightly.

In the first quarter, the national fertilizer production (reduced to pure, the same below) was 12.894 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.5%, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points from the previous February.

Among them, the output of nitrogen fertilizer was 8.819 million tons, an increase of 3.7% year-on-year; the output of phosphate fertilizer was 2.395 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 20.4%; the output of potassium fertilizer was 1.661 million tons, an increase of 6.8% year-on-year. In the first quarter, the output of pesticides and original medicines (equivalent to 100%) was 495,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 7.8%, of which the output of herbicides (original medicines) was 214,000 tons, a decrease of 12.2%. From January to March, the output of agricultural film was 200,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 9.3%.

· Export decline narrows, chemical exports increase in March

China's foreign trade in the chemical industries was generally better than expected in 1Q, and the total volume of imports and exports fell slightly, of which the decline in exports narrowed significantly. And it is noteworthy that exports rose significantly in March .

According to China Customs Statistics, the total value of imports and exports in the chemical industry was 166.98 billion USD in 1Q, a year-on-year decrease of 4%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the previous February, accounting for 17.7% of the country’s total import and export trade. Among them, the total export value was 51.28 billion USD, a decrease of 5.4%, a decrease of 6.7 percentage points from the previous February, accounting for 10.7% of the total export value of the country; March exports increased by 5.3% year-on-year. The total import value was 115.7 billion US dollars, down 3.4%, accounting for 24.9% of the national total import value. The trade deficit in the first quarter was US $ 64.42 billion, down 1.8% year-on-year.

Finished oil exports maintained rapid growth, and the decline in the export volume of rubber products and organic chemicals narrowed.

The export value of refined oil (total of steam, coal, and diesel) was 8.68 billion USD in 1Q 2020, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year; the export volume was 15.251 million tons, an increase of 9.1% year-on-year. The export volume of rubber products was 8.66 billion USD, a year-on-year decrease of 17.3%, which was narrowed by 2.9 percentage points from the previous February; the export volume was 2.018 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 11.1%. The export value of organic chemicals was 11.35 billion USD, a year-on-year decrease of 7.8%, a decrease of 10.1 percentage points from the previous February; the export volume was 4.328 million tons, an increase of 6.4% year-on-year.