China’s Aromatics Imports Down in September Amid Weakening Demand
China’s aromatics imports plunged in September amid weaker domestic consumption and increased local production, dampening buyer interest for overseas shipments, industry sources said on Tuesday.
Despite a relatively small month-on-month decline of just 0.3%, China’s paraxylene or PX imports slipped to 873,675 metric tons in September, according to the latest customs data. This marginal contraction suggests a shift towards domestic supply, primarily driven by a ramp-up in local PX production.
With the majority of Chinese PX plants having completed their annual maintenance and producers maintaining high operating rates, the market is aggressively building inventory to meet the anticipated winter peak demand from the downstream polyester sector, hence significantly reducing buyer interest for imported material.
The build-up of toluene supply, driven by weak demand from the U.S. gasoline blending season and India’s solvents market, led to Northeast Asian producers increasing the operating rates of their transalkylation and toluene disproportionation plants, despite facing poor production economics. This tactical shift successfully reduced the toluene surplus but, in turn, led to an increase in PX production which flooded the market and acted as a primary force depressing prices throughout September.
According to OPIS data, September monthly average PX prices slipped 1.9% month on month to $827.70/mt CFR China, while domestic Chinese PX prices fell 2.1% over the same period to 6,772.6 yuan ($953.80)/mt ex-tank, an industry source said.
Meanwhile, mixed xylene imports in September saw the sharpest decline, falling 39.4% over the same period to 67,522 mt. Local MX supply is increasing amid several plant restarts and new plant startups in China. Shandong Dongming Petrochemical’s 220,000 mt/year plant in Shandong, Dongfang Hualong Chemical’s 200,000 mt/year plant in Shandong and Shenghong Petrochemical’s 1.077 million mt/year plant restarted in September following an earlier maintenance shutdown.
In addition, PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical started its new cracker in early September and Shandong Yulong Petrochemical started introducing feedstocks into its No. 2 cracker in mid-September, adding to the supply length in the local market, industry sources said.
The ample supply also exerted downward pressure on local MX prices, with the September monthly average prompt prices in east China down 3.3% month on month at 5,591.36 yuan/mt ex-tank, OPIS data shows.
Meanwhile, benzene imports in September were lower by 1.4% month on month at 435,071 mt. Overall negative margins across the benzene downstream derivative sectors capped potential price increases in the local market despite a slight uptick in pre-stocking activities ahead of the October Golden Week holidays, an industry source said.
In addition, ample supply in the Chinese market amid several plant restarts also limited any upside in prices and rendered imported cargoes more expensive, thereby curbing demand for imports. These include Fujian Fuhaichuang Petroleum Chemical Industry’s 436,000 mt/year plants in Fujian, Shandong Dongming Petrochemical’s 25,000 mt/year plant in Shandong, and Shenghong Petrochemical’s 275,000 mt/year plant in Jiangsu which restarted in September.
On the other hand, China’s toluene exports surged by 19.9% month on month in September, reaching 95,396 mt — the highest monthly volume for the year and surpassing the previous peak set in February. This dramatic rise in outbound shipments suggests a strategic effort to address a looming local supply glut, according to industry sources. With domestic demand weakened by the slow performance of the gasoline blending sector, producers are aggressively utilizing exports as a necessary measure to drastically reduce accumulated inventory and rebalance the domestic market.
Additionally, restocking activities in the last week of September ahead of the Golden Week holidays have since slowed down and downstream derivative operating rates, though stable, are expected to decline further in October, an industry source added. This, coupled with increased supply from the startup of new toluene plants, has exerted downward pressure on local toluene prices, the source added. Prompt prices in east China September monthly average fell 2% month on month to 5,368.97 yuan/mt ex-tank, OPIS data shows.
New toluene capacities that have started up in 2025 include Wanhua Chemical Group’s 70,000 mt/year plant in Yantai, PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Co’s 110,000 mt/year plant in Jilin, ExxonMobil (Huizhou) Chemical Co’s 120,000 mt/year plant in Huizhou, Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co’s 240,000 mt/year plant in Zhejiang, Cnooc Ningbo Daxie Petrochemical 230,000 mt/year plant in Ningbo, and Fujian Haiquan Chemical Co’s 23,000 mt/year plant in Fujian, according to Chemical Market Analytics.
China’s purified terephthalic acid or PTA exports registered a significant gain in September, jumping 14.9% month on month to reach 343,726 mt. This surge was driven by the domestic market’s ample supply, as producers deliberately ramped up production in anticipation of the robust quarter four peak season for polyester textile demand. Facing elevated inventory levels from this pre-emptive production push, Chinese producers strategically turned to the export market to relieve the resulting domestic supply pressure and manage their stock overhang.
Moreover, several PTA plants have restarted following earlier maintenance. These include Dongying Weilian Chemical’s 2.5 million mt/year plant in Shandong, Hengli Petrochemical (Huizhou)’s 2.5 million mt/year plant in Guangdong, and Jiaxing Petrochemical’s 2.2 million mt/year plant in Zhejiang, adding to supply length in the market.
–Reporting by Serena Seng, sseng@opisnet.com; Editing by Mei-Hwen Wong, mwong@opisnet.com