China Would See a Greater Shortage of PX Supply in 2014

China would see a greater shortage of paraxylene (PX) supply in 2014, says a latest report prepared by the economics and technological research institute under the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), according to an article on xinhuanet.com.   The report states that the Chinese domestic industry managed to meet only 47 percent of the country’s PX demand in 2013.    Last year, China’s PX demand was 16.41 million tons, registering an increase of 18.5 percent year-on-year, while its PX imports were 8.7 million tons, showing a surge of 42 percent year-on-year, mentions the report.   China is the world’s largest producer of PX, a raw material for production of polyester.   Although China has about a quarter of the global PX production capacity, new projects to add capacity have been stalled during the past few years due to improved public awareness on environmental protection and lack of efficient transparent information on the proposed plants.   Since 2007, proposed PX projects in Xiamen, Dalian and Kunming have been scrapped or not yet started as residents in the vicinity protesting the construction of the plants alleging that the new facilities would threaten the surrounding environment.