my country’s synthetic rubber market supply and demand imbalance, national policies promote industry development

Synthetic rubber is a new type of organic polymer elastomer that is artificially synthesized using chemical methods. Its performance is similar to or exceeds that of natural rubber. It is one of the three major synthetic materials. It is oil-resistant and high-temperature resistant and has good elasticity, insulation and air tightness. .

There are various types of synthetic rubber, which can be divided into liquid rubber, solid rubber, powder rubber, etc. according to different finished product states; according to different uses, they can be divided into general synthetic rubber and special synthetic rubber. The former includes butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, etc., and the latter Including chloroprene rubber, butyl rubber, etc.

The upstream of the synthetic rubber industry chain is the supply of chemical raw materials such as naphtha, styrene, isobutylene, chloroprene, etc.; the midstream is the production of various products; the downstream is widely used in tire manufacturing, modified materials, hoses, tapes and other fields. Among them, tire manufacturing accounts for more than 65% of downstream demand and is the main application field, followed by modified materials, accounting for more than 10%.

According to the “China Synthetic Rubber Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report 2023-2028” released by the Industrial Research Center, domestic After a period of development in the synthetic rubber industry, production technology has continued to advance, production scale has continued to expand, and output has continued to grow, but it is still unable to meet the needs of the domestic market. In 2022, my country’s synthetic rubber output will be approximately 8 million tons, and apparent consumption will be approximately 12 million tons. From the perspective of import and export volume, my country’s current import volume of synthetic rubber is far greater than its export volume. It is highly dependent on imported products and has large room for domestic substitution in the market. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China, my country’s total imports of synthetic rubber products in 2022 were 4.7247 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.75%; exports were 721,900 tons, a year-on-year increase of 19.13%.

Synthetic rubber is widely used in various fields of society and is closely related to national life. It is one of the country’s important strategic resources. In recent years, local governments have issued a number of policies to encourage and support the development of the synthetic rubber industry and provide a good environment for it. In May 2022, the Yunnan Provincial Government issued the “Yunnan Province’s “14th Five-Year Plan” for the High-Quality Development of the Manufacturing Industry”, proposing to focus on promoting the integrated construction of petroleum refining and chemical, actively promote the construction of the second phase base of PetroChina’s Yunnan Refining Project, and encourage the promotion of Comprehensive utilization of oil refining by-products to develop new chemical materials such as synthetic plastics, synthetic fibers and synthetic rubber. In March 2023, the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government issued the “Implementation Plan for the High-Quality Development of Tianjin’s Petrochemical and Chemical Industry”, proposing to rely on the raw material resource advantages of Sinopec Nangang Ethylene and Bohua Chemical Relocation Project to focus on the development of synthetic rubber, synthetic fiber, synthetic Plastics and other three major synthetic materials and downstream high-end fine chemicals.

Industry analysts said that synthetic rubber is a downstream petroleum product, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation and China National Petroleum Corporation monopolize most of it. market share. With the continuous development of the national economy, the application range of synthetic rubber as a synthetic material with excellent performance will continue to expand, and it has a broad consumer market. Under the guidance of national policies, the domestic synthetic rubber industry needs to continuously improve its independent innovation capabilities, accelerate talent training, improve the industrial chain system, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of the industry.