According to China Customs, China only
exported 675.74 tonnes of furfural in Aug., down 19.9% MoM and 20.6% YoY. Notably,
furfural export volume always remains low in Aug. of a year. In Aug. 2015, the
figure was merely 851.53 tonnes, the lowest of that year. Besides, in Jan.-Aug.
2016, export volume of furfural totaled 11,341 tonnes in China, down 27.3% YoY.
Source: Baidu
According to CCM's research, the large
decline in furfural export volume in Aug. is mainly because of:
Continuously dropping crude oil price
Phenolic resin, a downstream product of
crude oil, is a substitute for furan resin, an end product of furfural. In
2016, the international crude oil price keeps low, boosting the demand for
phenolic resin and therefore dragging down the demand for furfural. Data from
the New York Mercantile Exchange show that the Brent crude oil price hit
USD45/bbl in Aug., vs. USD54/bbl the same period in 2015 and USD103/bbl in
2014.
Continuously depressed global manufacturing
The global manufacturing keeps sluggish in
2016, leading to weak demand for furfural, thus affecting the export of
furfural in China.
The export price of furfural also remains
low in 2016. In Jan.-Aug., the export price was USD1,078/t, down 23.9% YoY.
Although the figure rebounded slightly in June-Aug., it was still lower than
the same period in pervious years. The falling price of corn (raw material for
furfural) was the major factor. According to CCM's price monitoring, the market
price of corn has slid to USD288.24/t in Jan.-Aug. 2016 in China, down 24.9%
YoY.
China's exports of furfural, Jan. 2014-Aug.
2016
Source: China Customs
Export destination
Belgium, the US and Japan were still the
top three export destinations of furfural from China in Jan.-Aug. 2016, with
import volume being 3,213 tonnes, 3,080 tonnes and 1,372 tonnes, 28.3%, 27.2%
and 12.1% of the total separately. It should be noted that export volumes to
some developed countries experienced significant declines when compared to the
same period in previous years. In particular, export volume to Belgium in
Jan.-Aug. 2016 dropped by 64.8% YoY; the export volume in Jan.-Aug. 2015
accounted for 58% of China's total.
On the contrary, China exported more and
more furfural to some developing countries in Africa, such as Egypt and
Algeria. Egypt even moved up to the fourth place by import volume this year,
vs. 0 tonne in 2015.
Selected export destinations of furfural
from China by volume, Jan.-Aug. 2016
Source: China Customs
This article comes from Corn Products China News 1610, CCM
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Tag: corn furfural