Analysis of Import Data of Benzene Anhydride in China

From 2017 to 2021, the import volume of domestic phthalic anhydride showed a downward trend, but it rebounded sharply in 2020. It is mainly due to the continuous increase of domestic production of phthalic anhydride from 2017 to 2019 along with the continuous production of new domestic phthalic anhydride devices, while the downstream demand is shrinking. As a result, the oversupply situation in the domestic phthalic anhydride industry is intensified, which inhibits the external sources from entering the domestic market.

On the other hand, in recent years, the domestic naphthalene anhydride production capacity is concentrated on the market, the overall impact on the domestic anhydride market appears, resulting in a long-term low market center of anhydride, a long-term inverted situation of internal and external plate sources, external plate sources are difficult to enter the domestic market. However, since 2020, with the outbreak of the epidemic, the domestic market has been the first to recover, and the domestic market price of phthalic anhydride has become the global market price highland.

Prompting external sources to enter the domestic market again, and the import volume of domestic phthalic anhydride has increased significantly. In 2021, the downstream demand is weak, combined with the impact of the epidemic situation and other factors, the import of imported goods fell off a cliff, and the import of domestic benzene anhydride entered a downward channel again.

In 2021, the total import volume of China's phthalic anhydride products was about 16,000 tons, down 66.23% year-on-year, and the average monthly import volume was 0.1,300 tons. The import volume of phthalic anhydride products decreased significantly in the first half of the year, and the import volume in the first quarter was basically negligible, mainly because the domestic market price of phthalic anhydride was in the global price low.

Lead to benzene anhydride import demand to drop substantially thereby. In May and June, the import volume of domestic phthalic anhydride rose, mainly due to the outbreak of the epidemic in Southeast Asia and the stagnation of demand in Southeast Asia. Under the advantage of price difference, the import window of domestic phthalic anhydride opened again.

In terms of price, 2021 benzene anhydride product import prices soared from the same period a year earlier, in 2020 is mainly affected by the epidemic factors, led to the 2020 annual average price is lower, and affected by global inflation expectations, in 2021 the commodity futures market, also in crude benzene anhydride product driven sharply higher, aromatics industry chain under the cost side, Thus pushing up the average annual import price of benzene anhydride.