Polyester products exports fall in January-February,2024

According to the latest data from the Customs, polyester products exports were near 1.803 million tons in January-February, 2024, down 18,000 tons year-on-year, with polyester filament yarn slipping 63,000 tons while staple fibers were down 26,000 tons. In addition, in the same period, PTA exports rose 63,000 tons year-on-year, PX imports rose 130,000 tons year-on-year, and MEG imports slipped 150,000 tons year-on-year.

          Imports and exports of polyester industrial chain products in Jan-Feb 2024 (KT)

The major contributor to the polyester products export growth in 2023 was polyester filament yarn and staple fiber, but the exports of which declined significantly in January-February this year, which is causing concerns about this year's export situation. However, although the exports of filament yarn and staple fiber declined, the downstream polyester yarn and woven fabrics exports grew year-on-year, especially in polyester filament woven fabrics. At the beginning of the year, the downstream mills confirmed on the overseas orders, which seemingly can be reflected in January-February data.

We analyzed the overall export volume of chapters 50-63, and found that most of the chapters have achieved year-on-year growth in January-February.

Comparing the statistics of these chapters to the same periods in previous years, it can be found that the exports achieved a noticeable growth this year, which is even better than the same period in 2022. (The data may undergo minor adjustments in the future. But the growth trend is still relatively obvious based on current data)

Looking back at the market before the lunar new year, the optimism can be understood to some extent. The increase of the export orders, the start of spring clothing sales in China domestic market and the strong demand in spring of 2023, the market players held expectation for the post-holiday demand, which triggered active pre-holiday market stocking coupled with the bullish atmosphere in the commodity market. But the post-holiday order has cooled compared to the previous period and fell short of expectations. The market sentiment weakened .

Therefore, in term of the filament yarn and staple fiber, January-February data is unsatisfactory. But from the perspective of industrial chain, the overall performance is relatively better. Disturbed by the Spring Festival, whether the data in the first two months is representative or not is difficult to say at present. The future demand trend still requires further observation before making any conclusions.