Heavy Plant Maintenance Drives Up China’s July Aromatics Imports as Exports Contract

China’s aromatics market navigated a shifting balance of supply and demand in July, defined by resilient domestic demand for key feedstocks such as paraxylene or PX, mixed xylenes or MX and benzene, alongside a notable drop in outward trade flows as the country prioritized internal captive production of key downstream chemical derivatives.

PX imports rose 6.4% month on month to 512,621 metric tons. The uptick was driven by heavy maintenance turnarounds at domestic PX plants, which constrained local supply and resulted in downstream purified terephthalic acid or PTA producers relying on imports to cover immediate operational needs.

According to Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, domestic PX maintenance offline capacity reached 1.133 million mt in July. Key turnarounds included Shenghong Petrochemical (with a capacity of 4 million mt/year), Dongying Weilian (1.96 million mt/year), Fujian Fuhaichuang (1.6 million mt/year) and Ningbo Zhongjin (1.6 million mt/year).

Increased demand on the back of tight supply, coupled with lower PX import prices in July, gave rise to China’s increased imports. According to data from OPIS, PX CFR China prices in July averaged $1,057.04/mt, down 2.2% month on month.

Benzene imports surged 27.3% month on month to 403,133 mt as tight supply in China stemming from ongoing plant maintenances removed 529,000 mt of benzene production capacity in July, CMA data shows. Notable turnarounds include those by Dongying Weilian Chemical Co’s 846,000 mt/year plants in Shandong, Fujian Fuhaichuang Petroleum Chemical Industry Co’s 639,000 mt/year plants in Fujian, and Hongrun Petrochemical (Weifang) Co.’s 255,000 mt/year plants in Shandong.

Benzene inventories in East China remained tightly constrained throughout July, averaging 76,800 mt—a sharp 41% drop from June levels, according to CMA data. The resulting uptick in Chinese import demand provided strong support for regional prices, pushing South Korea’s export prices up 2.9% month on month to average $933.64/mt FOB Korea, OPIS data showed.

Meanwhile, MX imports surged 210.5% month on month though from a low base to reach 59 mt in July. Chinese MX imports have dwindled since May as the country transitioned into a net exporter—shipping out 6,051 mt of MX in May, compared to just 14 mt in April.

Similarly, styrene monomer or SM imports jumped 242.9% month on month to 4,200 mt in July, though the overall intake remains low, relative to China’s total domestic production capacity.

In contrast, downstream exports contracted broadly as extensive maintenance turnarounds restricted local supply. With domestic markets running tight, Chinese producers prioritized domestic consumption over export markets. Consequently, PTA exports dropped 18.8% month on month in July to 290,630 mt amid production cuts.

Average Chinese PTA plant operating rates recovered to 63.4% by late July—up 6.6 percentage points week on week, though still down 15.8 percentage points year on year, according to an industry source. Meanwhile, robust downstream polyester run rates, which averaged 81.9% at the end of July, steadily absorbed domestic PTA availability, further curtailing export allocations.

SM exports plunged 60.4% month on month to 79,550 mt in July. Despite sluggish sales and margin compression across downstream polymer markets, ongoing plant turnarounds and dwindling East China inventory levels tightened local supply, leaving little surplus to ship overseas.

Toluene exports dipped slightly by 2.2% month on month to 223,664 mt in July, maintaining a relatively steady export footprint to overseas blending and chemical markets. Heavy domestic plant maintenance also curtailed export volumes amid a reduction in domestic supply availability. An estimated 561,000 mt of Chinese toluene capacity or 22% of the country’s total toluene production volume was offline in July amid plant turnarounds, data from CMA shows.

Notable turnarounds included those by Dongying Weilian Chemical Co.’s 732,000 mt/year plant in Shandong, Fujian Fuhaichuang Petroleum Chemical Industry Co.’s 486,000 mt/year plant in Fujian and Hongrun Petrochemical (Weifang) Co.’s 200,000 mt/year plant in Shandong.

Meanwhile, MX exports plummeted 79.9% month on month to 2,018 mt. Pre-buying by PX producers, low inventory levels and strengthening demand from the domestic gasoline blending sector—combined with ongoing plant maintenance—severely restricted local supply and left little surplus for export.

—Reporting by Serena Seng, sseng@opisnet.com; Editing by Mei-Hwen Wong, mwong@opisnet.com