<b>In April, the export volume of China’s polymeric MDI increased greatly year-on-year, but decreased month-on-month</b>

In April 2021, China’s polymeric MDI export volume increased significantly year-on-year, but fell month-on-month
According to the latest data released by China Customs, from January to April 2021, the cumulative export volume of China’s polymeric MDI was 343,899.16 tons, a year-on-year increase of 64.1% compared with the cumulative export volume from January to April last year. Among them, in April 2021, China’s polymeric MDI export volume was 81,837.11 tons, a year-on-year increase of 146.8% compared with April last year. The reason for the sharp year-on-year increase is that firstly, it was affected by the low base of export volume in April last year, and secondly, the volume of exports to major destination countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, and India achieved relatively high growth compared with the same period last year. However, from a month-on-month perspective, China’s polymeric MDI export volume in April 2021 decreased by 22.5% from March.

Broken down by export destination country, in April 2021, the United States, the Netherlands, and the Russian Federation were the top three export destination countries (by export weight) of China’s aggregated MDI. Among them, the quantity of polymeric MDI exported to the United States was 19,786 tons, a decrease of 47.9% from March, and an increase of 133.7% from 8,465 tons in April last year; the quantity of polymerized MDI exported to the Netherlands was 10,002 tons, an increase of 232.8% from March, and a year-on-year increase of 133.7%. The 4,016 tons in April last year increased by 149.1%; the amount of polymeric MDI exported to the Russian Federation was 5,946 tons, an increase of 69.3% from March, and an increase of 405.2% from 1,177 tons in April last year. In April 2021, the volume of aggregated MDI exported to the above three countries accounted for 43.7% of the total. The downstream demand in Europe and the United States is relatively strong, and Huntsman’s Dutch factory is under maintenance in April, which has led to a relatively high increase in the quantity of polymeric MDI exported to Europe and the United States.

Table 1. China’s main export destination countries and export volume of polymeric MDI in April 2021

In April 2021, China’s polymeric MDI imports decreased year-on-year and month-on-month, mainly due to the significant decrease in imports from Japan and South Korea
From January to April 2021, China’s cumulative import of polymeric MDI was 103,511.71 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 8.3% compared to the cumulative export volume from January to April last year. Among them, in April 2021, China’s polymeric MDI imports were 21,206.21 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 36.4% compared to April last year. From a month-on-month perspective, China’s polymeric MDI export volume in April 2021 decreased by 25.0% from the previous month.

Breakdown by import source countries, in April 2021, the volume of polymeric MDI imported by China from Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea, the three main import source countries, all showed a month-on-month decrease. Among them, the amount of polymeric MDI imported from Saudi Arabia was 10,138 tons, a decrease of 14.8% from March, and an increase of 16.3% from 8,718 tons in April last year; the amount of polymeric MDI (including MDI mother liquor) imported from Japan was 6,371 tons, a decrease of 3% from the previous month. The month-to-month decrease was 29.3%, which was a decrease of 51.5% from 13,142 tons in April last year; the amount of polymeric MDI imported from South Korea was 3,485 tons, a decrease of 43.0% from March, and a decrease of 66.4% from 10,357 tons in April last year. Imports of polymeric MDI from Japan and South Korea have decreased significantly.