Mapped: highest export growth in China nylon industry

Due to the fierce competition under the industrial integration and capacity expansions, China domestic nylon raw material price competition is fierce, and the prices are evidently lower than overseas market. In the post-epidemic period, the recovery of overseas downstream production not only stimulated the growth of Chinese terminal orders, but also increased the demand for the intermediates. The combination of the above factors has led to the gradual emergence of the export advantages of the middle and upstream links of the nylon industry chain, and this trend has become more and more prominent over time.

In the first half of 2022, compared with the same period in 2021, except for reduced export of cord fabrics, the products of nylon industry have increased to varying degrees. The more upstream, the higher export growth is.

   - CPL increased 7.2 times YoY.

   - Exports of nylon 6 chip, industrial filament and textile filament (POY, FDY, HOY) increased by 36-42% YoY.

   - Exports of films, DTY, textiles and apparel grew 11-20% YoY.

Compared with the first half of 2019, when there was no epidemic, the export of all links in the industrial chain increased, which also conforms to the characteristics of increasing growth as you go upstream.

   - CPL exports grew more than 110 times.

   - Nylon 6 chip exports more than doubled.

   - Exports of the intermediates including industrial filament, textile filament (POY, FDY, HOY), film, and DTY increased by 55-90%.

   - Exports of downstream textiles, apparel and cord fabrics increased by 13-30%.

Based on the export momentum in recent months, the exports of CPL, nylon 6 chip, industrial filament and textile filament (POY, FDY, HOY) all have breakthrough growth.

1. CPL export

The CPL-benzene price gap in Chinese market continued to be reduced, and the price advantage of China-made CPL was prominent, which was favorable for the substantial growth of CPL exports. 

In the future, the focus of CPL capacity expansion in the world is still in Chinese mainland. With the increase of new production capacity and the withdrawal of old capacity with high cost and low efficiency, the price advantage of CPL will become more prominent, and the substitution of overseas market share will also increase significantly.

In the first half of 2022, China exported 6,700 tons of CPL, which is already double that of the whole year of 2021. The growth momentum is very strong. China's CPL has been mainly exported to Taiwan (China), South Korea, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.

2. Nylon 6 chip export

In H1 2022, the export volume of nylon 6 chip has increased month by month, with single-month export volume breaking through 40,000 tons for the first time in June, reaching a new high. 

In 2021, due to the advantages of stable price and supply, the export volume of nylon 6 chip doubled, mainly used in the field of modified plastics. The consumption from textile filed also increased, but the proportion was small. It continued to replace the imported chips. 

In 2022, on the basis of doubling the year-on-year growth in 2021, the export growth of nylon 6 chip is still strong, with a year-on-year growth of more than 40% in the first half of the year.

The main flow of exports have been not much changed in 2022. However, the increment in exports to India is largest, which are the main growth point of total nylon 6 chip exports. Exports to South Korea, Indonesia, Brazil, etc. also increased moderately. However, exports to Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan decreased slightly.

3. NIY export

In the first half of the year, the export performance of industrial filament applied to fishing net industry was relatively good. Under the form of weak export demand for cord fabric, the export performance of industrial filament was outstanding, and the export growth rate of the whole year is expected to rise up again.

Since April 2022, the export of nylon industrial filament has grown by leaps and bounds, increasing month by month, changing the interval adjustment rhythm in the second quarter of the same period of the previous years, and the new export demand is mainly high-strength yarn.

From the perspective of export flow, exports to India have the strongest growth, and exports to Peru, Brazil, the Philippines, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates have also increased significantly, but exports to Thailand have decreased significantly. Other regions increased or decreased slightly, with little change.

4. NFY export

Benefiting from the cost advantage and the demand support of the recovery of the overseas weaving industry, the export of nylon textile filaments has increased significantly since the fourth quarter of 2021, and the growth has continued to improve in 2022.

The advantages of cost, improvement of product quality and stable supply are also conducive to maintaining steady export growth. In 2022, as export demand surge has been passed, the growth has returned to reasonable range. Based on the situation in the first half of 2022, the annual growth rate of export may still reach above 20%.

From the perspective of export flow, exports to South Korea have the most obvious growth, mainly due to price advantages; exports to Turkey, India, and Vietnam have also grown more prominently. In addition to price reasons, the main reason is also related to the recovery of production in these regions after the epidemic. The shrinkage of exports to Sri Lanka and Pakistan was mainly affected by the local economic crisis.

In areas where the amount of nylon products purchased from China fluctuates greatly, there are changes in demand, as well as changes in purchasing structure or industrial structure. To sum up the above-mentioned products, there are some major growth points in nylon exports:

1. CPL and nylon textile filaments exported to South Korea have grown significantly.

2. Nylon 6 chip, industrial filament, and textile filaments exported to India have grown substantially. 

3. CPL exported to Taiwan province has grown evidently.