Polymeric MDI

Driven by the growth of exports to the United States and the Netherlands, China's polymeric MDI exports increased by 37.8% in May 2021.

According to the latest data released by China Customs, in May 2021, China's polymeric MDI exports was 112,794.60 tons, with a year-on-year growth of 309.1% and a month-on-month growth of 37.8%. From January to May 2021, the cumulative export of China's polymeric MDI was 456,693.76 tons, up by 92.6% year-on-year compared with that from January to May last year.

Subdivided by export destination, the United States, the Netherlands and Canada were the top three export destinations (by export weight) of China's polymeric MDI in May 2021, of which 34,563 tons of polymeric MDI were exported to the United States, with a month-on-month increase of 74.7%. The volume of polymeric MDI exported to the Netherlands was 21,475 tons, up by 114.7% month on month. Exports to the above two countries accounted for 49.7% of the total volume of the month. Canada was the third largest exporter in the month, with 6,774 tons of polymeric MDI exported to Canada, up by 56.7% month-on-month.

Table 1. China's major polymeric MDI export destinations and amount in May 2021

In May 2021, China's polymeric MDI imports increased by 33.9% month-on-month, where the imports from Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea increased month-on-month.

In May 2021, China's polymeric MDI import volume was 28,397.56 tons, with a year-on-year decrease of 21.8% and a month on month increase of 33.9%. From January to May 2021, China's cumulative imports of polymeric MDI were 131,909.27 tons, down by 11.6% compared with the cumulative exports from January to May last year.

Subdivided by import country of origin, China's polymeric MDI imports from Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea showed a month-on-month growth in May 2021, with 14,796 tons of polymeric MDI imported from Saudi Arabia, up by 45.9% month-on-month. The volume of polymeric MDI (including MDI mother liquor) imported from Japan was 8,431 tons, up by 32.3% month-on-month. The volume of polymeric MDI imported from South Korea was 3,634 tons, up by 4.3% month-on-month. Polymeric MDI imports from the three major source countries increased by 16,504 tons compared with the previous month.

Table 2. Main source countries and import volume of China's polymeric MDI in May 2021

Pure MDI

In May 2021, China's net MDI export volume was 9,327.47 tons, with a year-on-year increase of 179.1%, and a month-on-month decrease of 12.5%. From January to May 2021, China's total exports of pure MDI were 53,713.75 tons, up by 41.1% year-on-year from January to May last year.

In May 2021, China's pure MDI import volume was 4,814.32 tons, with a year-on-year decrease of 25.6% and a month-on-month increase of 7.5%. From January to May 2021, China's total imports of pure MDI were 29,370.76 tons, with a year-on-year decrease of 15.6% compared with the total exports from January to May last year.