Page 55 - Plastics News September 2018

FEATURES

Exports reduces 0DOD\VLD LPSRUWHG PLOOLRQ SRXQGV RI 8 6 VFUDS
A Thai policy restricting the import of scrap plastics has plastic, close to its 2018 monthly average of 56.1 million
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near its average of 10.1 million pounds per month. India
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exporters sent 1.5 million pounds of recovered plastic imported 24.7 million pounds, on par with its monthly
to Thailand in July, the most recent month for which average of 25.5 million pounds. Indonesia received 4
statistics are available. That’s a substantial decline from million pounds, up slightly from its average of 3.2 million
WKH PLOOLRQ SRXQGV WKH 8 6 VKLSSHG WR 7KDLODQG LQ pounds per month this year. Singapore, which has varied
June, as well as the 41.6 million pounds sent in May. The widely in its imports throughout the year, received 117,000
ODWHVW H[SRUW ÀJXUHV ZHUH UHOHDVHG :HGQHVGD\ E\ WKH SRXQGV IURP WKH 8 6 LQ -XO\ XS VOLJKWO\ IURP LWV -XQH
8 6 JRYHUQPHQW 9LHWQDP DQG &KLQD ERWK LPSRUWHG WKHLU volume of 99,000 pounds but down from its average of
ORZHVW 8 6 VRXUFHG SODVWLFV YROXPHV RI WKH \HDU LQ -XO\ 212,000 pounds per month.
Vietnam brought in 3.1 million pounds, down from 10.2 :KDW FRXOG EH QH[W
PLOOLRQ SRXQGV LQ -XQH DQG VLJQLÀFDQWO\ GRZQ IURP Among the virgin plastics that will be hit with duties is
million pounds in May. The drop accompanied growing +'3( 7KH 8 6 VKLSSHG PHWULF WRQV RI +'3(
interest by the Vietnamese government in restricting scrap to China last year. The list also adds linear low density
polyethylene (LLDPE), of which 130,000 metric tons were
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they would stop issuing new scrap import licenses. exported to China last year.
For virgin plastics producers the new list will hit where
China imported 5.5 million pounds of scrap plastic from
it hurts. The virgin impact is important for the recycling
WKH 8 6 LQ -XO\ ,W·V WKH ORZHVW YROXPH RI WKH \HDU DQG LV industry because recycled plastic prices often follow
down from the 7.3 million pounds of the material shipped virgin resin trends. A number of virgin plastics production
to China the previous month. Overall, China has imported projects are currently planned or in progress. Experts have
an average of 10.3 million pounds of scrap plastic from predicted they will keep prime prices low in the coming
WKH 8 6 SHU PRQWK WKLV \HDU years, putting downward pressure on recycled resin prices.
Other Southeast Asian nations stayed fairly consistent in But the tariffs threaten to disrupt that dynamic. The North
American PE market has about 7 million metric tons of
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new capacity slated to come on-line by 2022, and those
,QGLD LPSRUWHG PLOOLRQ SRXQGV RI 8 6 VFUDS SODVWLF projects were initiated before the tariffs were in the
in July as compared to 31 million pounds in May this year.
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tons of new capacity. It has to be exported.

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products. It has drafted a list of tariffs on 5,000 product
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goods. That list included pulp from virgin and recycled
sources. For chemicals and plastics, that list could be
even more painful than the August. 23 one, according to
the ACC. The $60 billion list is in response to the Trump
Administration’s proposed 25 percent tariffs on $200
billion worth of Chinese goods. This round could go into
effect starting in September. Bloomberg and Reuters both
reported that talks between the countries haven’t yielded
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likely.
Courtesy: Recycling Today

55 September 2018 Plastics News