EU first-quarter polystyrene imports jumped 119% year on year, according to recent Eurostat data. Market sources attributed the sharp increase in imports largely to reductions in domestic production capacity.
The EU imported 38,920 mt of PS in Q1, up from 17,752 mt the same period of last year and 40% above the 27,750 mt imported in Q4, the data show.
PS capacity cuts in Europe include the closure of Ineos Styrenics' 180,000 mt/year plant in Marl, Germany in October 2012 and the shutdown of Total Petrochemicals' 80,000 mt/year plant in the UK in March 2013.
The EU is importing PS mostly from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, where new plants have come on stream.
Product from Saudi Polymers's 200,000 mt/year PS plant in Al Jubail and Estyrenics' 200,000 mt/year PS plant at Alexandria have been actively marketed to Turkey, North Africa and Northwest Europe since 2013.
