16 November 2006 – A return to stronger demand for polymer imports to China may be on the horizon, according to research group Nexant ChemSystems.
There have been concerns about demand from the Chinese plastics industry in the past two years, as imports of virgin polymer slowed down after previously growing at a rapid rate.
However, Helen Weeks, polyolefins consultant at Nexant ChemSystems, said that the company’s research showed that imports of scrap and recycled polymers increased rapidly over the same period.
In 2005, imports of all types of scrap polymers had risen to around 5 million tonnes from about 4 million tonnes in 2004 and 3 million tonnes in 2003.
This switch was due to high prices of virgin polymer, she said. “The Chinese are sensitive to price. Often they wait for prices to fall and then start purchasing again.”
That could be about to happen soon, according to Nexant’s research, which suggests scrap imports will peak in 2006. Virgin polymer imports would stand to benefit from this.
Weeks was speaking at the Global Plastics Strategies conference in Brussels, organised by EPN and PRW.com.
