South Korea’s Aromatics Exports Up in July on Sustained Demand

South Korea’s aromatics exports remained strong in July, supported by robust demand from major export destinations, including China, India and the U.S. Continued restocking activity by international buyers, alongside healthy downstream consumption, played a key role in increasing export volumes across key products such as mixed xylenes or MX, toluene and benzene.

According to the latest customs data, South Korea exported 79,576 metric tons of MX in July, marking an 11.4% increase compared to the previous month. The surge was primarily driven by strong demand from the gasoline blending and paraxylene or PX production sectors.

China was the largest buyer, importing 58,083 mt of MX from South Korea, followed by Taiwan, China with 14,426 mt. Market sources noted that most of the volumes shipped to these regions were likely channeled into local PX production facilities, as PX demand remained firm.

Additionally, a smaller parcel of 5,703 mt was exported to the U.S., where MX was most likely utilized for gasoline blending due to demand from the peak summer driving season, an industry source said.

South Korea’s toluene exports surged by 32.9% month on month in July to reach 55,919 mt, supported by rising demand from the paints, solvents and coatings sectors in India. India remained the top destination for Korea’s toluene, taking in 27,342 mt during the month. However, the south Asian nation’s overall imports of toluene dipped by 18% from June, suggesting reduced inventory needs following earlier stockpiling.

Gasoline blending activity in Singapore and the U.S. also contributed to the upswing in toluene exports. Singapore ranked second after India, importing 10,004 mt, followed closely by the U.S., with 6,020 mt. The uptick in exports underscores a broader recovery in toluene demand for the gasoline blending sectors in Asia and North America.

Benzene exports also posted an increase, of 19.8% month on month to 258,372 mt in July. This came with rising Chinese consumption, buoyed by improved operating rates at downstream derivative plants following the end of the annual maintenance season.

According to data from Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, China’s styrene monomer plants operated at an average rate of approximately 75% as of July 31. Phenol and acetone production facilities were also running at strong rates in the high-70% range, reflecting improved margins and favorable market conditions.

Nearly all of South Korea’s benzene exports were shipped to China (243,714 mt), with additional volumes headed to Taiwan, China (11,805 mt), highlighting the concentration of demand in Northeast Asia.

Compared to other aromatics, South Korea’s PX exports slipped marginally by 1.7% month on month to 407,545 mt in July. The decline was attributed to the restart of several major PX production facilities in China, which led to a boost in domestic supply and reduced import dependency.

Notable restarts in recent months include Dalian Fujia Dahua Petrochemical’s 700,000 mt/year PX plant in Dalian, Cnooc Huizhou Petrochemical’s 1.8 million mt/year facility in Huizhou, and Sinopec Jiujiang’s 890,000 mt/year unit in Jiujiang.

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