China Exports Cheap PVC, Steel, As Local Demand Dips

Prices for commodities like petrochemicals and steel have plunged from highs earlier this year as Chinese producers respond to weakening domestic consumption by turning to export markets, Shinichi Arakawa, Momoka Matsumoto, and Yosuke Kawaji reported for Nikkei Asia.

Photo Insert: Imports of Chinese-made polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into India, the world's largest buyer of PVC, doubled on the year in the April-October period.

Imports of Chinese-made polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into India, the world's largest buyer of PVC, doubled on the year in the April-October period, according to India's Commerce Ministry.

This came amid a 10% drop in Chinese investment in domestic property development for the first 11 months of 2022, denting local demand for a material used in construction products and water pipes.

China’s burgeoning inventory of industrial products amid low demand domestically, as well as internationally, has led to a buyers’ market, with importers taking advantage as they haggled for lower prices.

By yearend, China will be hobbled by Indonesia’s ban on the exports of bauxite, a key material for producing aluminum, as well Australia’s shipping its iron ore to the US and Europe, rather than China, as Beijing inflicts trade barriers on Australian mineral and agricultural exports.

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