South Korea's November exports of isomer-grade mixed xylenes fell 14% from October to 27,372 mt due to a turnaround and lower shipments to key market China, data released Monday by the Korea Customs Service showed.
South Korea exported 5,709 mt to China in November, down 66% from October, data showed. Total November exports fell 68% year on year.
"As enough isomer-MX was produced in China, there was less demand for importing isomer-MX from South Korea to China," a trader said.
Another trader based in Seoul said a turnaround by South Korean producer SK Energy Incheon cut isomer-MX supply available for export.
SK Energy restarted its Incheon aromatics plant in late November, after a two-month turnaround. The plant can produce 500,000 mt/year of isomer-MX, 200,000 mt/year of benzene and 160,000 mt/year of toluene.
The startup of new downstream paraxylene plants also reduced South Korea's November exports, sources said.
South Korean Hyundai Cosmo Petrochemical's 800,000 mt/year PX plant at Daesan started up in January.
"Since HC Petrochem's new PX plant startup, the isomer-MX balance -- taking into account domestic production and demand -- has flipped to net-short this year, with shortage of around 390,000 mt/year," a third market source said.
Around 3 million mt/year of PX capacity will come online in South Korea in 2014, which might further tighten feedstock isomer-MX supplies in the region, sources added.
