The import and export volume of coal chemicals has been rising and falling

In the first half of this year, the import and export volume of some coal chemical products in China rose and fell. Among them, the import of industrial Naphthalene increased, while the export of Carbon Black and COAL TAR pitch decreased.

According to customs data, the import volume of carbon black in June was 6825.57 tons, an increase of 14% over May and a decrease of 11.6% over the previous year. The main import sources were Korea, the United States, Japan, Thailand and Belgium. Over the same period, carbon black exports reached 60781.14 tons, an increase of 0.3% over May and a decrease of 13% over the same period last year. Among them, the number of exports to Thailand is 17294.35 tons, accounting for 28.45% of China's carbon black exports; Indonesia 14.92% and Vietnam 14.72%. From January to June, the total carbon black export volume was 383.7 million tons, down 13% from the same period last year. During the same period, the total import of carbon black was 357,000 tons, down 31% from the same period last year. "In the first half of this year, the domestic carbon black industry is facing fierce competition. In the case of excessive domestic supply, enterprises actively seek export channels. But in the case of less optimistic export situation, the price of carbon black has declined. Zhongyu Information Analyst Ma Haiying said.

According to the statistics of customs data, the import volume of industrial naphthalene in China has shown a significant decreasing trend in recent years. With the maturity of coal tar deep processing technology in China, the degree of external dependence in this field has been reduced. In the first half of this year, China imported 14561.291 tons of industrial naphthalene, close to the total import volume in 2018, while the export volume was only 80 tons. In recent years, under the restriction of environmental protection and other factors, there is a certain gap in the supply of industrial naphthalene in China. The main supply and domestic demand, exports are decreasing day by day, and imports are much larger than exports.

In the first half of the year, the import volume of industrial naphthalene in China was higher than that in the same period of 2017 and 2018. "This is mainly because with the increasingly stringent national environmental protection control, the coal tar deep processing unit started to operate at a low level. In addition, the downstream demand pattern changes, the production of naphthalene-based phthalic anhydride under the drive of high profits increases, the demand for industrial naphthalene is increasing, there is a gap in domestic supply, some traders will look abroad. Li Jinglian, an information analyst at Zhongyu, said. According to customs statistics, more than 97% of industrial naphthalene in China is imported from Japan. Japan's coal tar processing technology is relatively mature, has advantages in quality and price, and is relatively close to China's ports, so it has become the most important importing country in China. The import of naphthalene in the last half year is estimated to exceed 25,000 tons this year. In recent years, China's industrial naphthalene exports are mostly concentrated in the first half of the year. Due to stricter environmental protection requirements in the second half of winter, the supply side of naphthalene is more shortage than in the first half of the year. Domestic demand and supply of main suppliers in the field are basically zero in the third and fourth quarters. But in 2019, there was no export record in the first five months except for 80 tons exported to Thailand in June. Compared with the first six months of 2018, the decline was 94%. "The increase in domestic demand is, of course, the fundamental reason for the decrease in China's industrial naphthalene exports. In addition, with the increase of demand, the price of naphthalene keeps rising, and the lack of competitiveness in export to foreign countries is also a reason. Moreover, at present, most enterprises produce liquid industrial naphthalene, which is transported by direct loading, which is not conducive to export. Li Jinglian said that based on the domestic supply and demand situation, China's industrial naphthalene exports will continue to decrease in 2019, or less than 500 tons. According to Zhongyu Information, while the downstream demand is increasing, it is difficult for China to effectively follow up the supply of industrial naphthalene due to environmental constraints. Therefore, some enterprises focus on foreign countries. The import of naphthalene shows an increasing trend, while the export volume is not much. At the same time, the domestic demand is increasing, it is also sharply decreasing.

According to the statistics of customs, the import volume of coal tar pitch in June was 937.6 tons, which was 84% higher than that in May and 55% lower than that in May, while the export volume of coal tar pitch was 42654.911 tons, which was 14% higher than that in May and 27% lower than that in May. From January to June, the total export volume of coal tar pitch in China was 258.9 million tons, which was 27% lower than that in the same period last year. From 2015 to 2017, the export volume of coal tar pitch was relatively stable. In 2018, the domestic export volume of coal tar pitch increased greatly. However, the domestic and foreign downstream demand was insufficient this year. Not only the domestic price of coal tar pitch dropped frequently, but also the export volume declined significantly. During the same period, the total import of coal tar pitch in China was 0.61 million tons, down 13.8% from the same period last year. From 2015 to 2018, China's coal tar pitch import has maintained a steady growth. In the first half of this year, coal tar pitch import has declined. On the one hand, China's coal tar pitch industry structure has gradually changed, and the gradual development of special performance asphalt has gradually weakened its dependence on foreign countries; on the other hand, downstream demand has been dull in stages, advancing in the same period. Exports have all declined.