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According to Chinese official statistics, China's methanol imports reached a new high in December 2008, reaching 361,670 tons. Platts has tracked China's methanol import statistics since the end of 2000. The highest import volume in January 2001 was 211,156 tons. Methanol imports in December 2008 were 350% higher than in November and 1,041% higher than in December 2007. China has imported a large amount of methanol, which has caused the price of methanol to rise to the highest level in the past few months. It is expected that the price will continue to rise in January and February 2009. As of January 23, 2009, the CFR price in mainland China was the highest in Asia at US$181/ton. In comparison, the CFR price in South Korea and Japan was US$165/ton, the CFR price in Taiwan, China and Southeast Asia was US$155/ton, and the CFR price in India was US$149.5/ton. Because China has a methanol capacity of 12 million to 14 million tons per year and its imports are increasing, domestic methanol companies have experienced low marginal benefits since November 2008, with an average operating rate of 50% to 70%. Many small and medium-sized units have shut down and stopped production. China has now shut down 200 methanol producers, many of which are small producers and use coal-to-gas as raw material. Except for China, methanol is almost all produced from natural gas, which is cheaper than coal-based gas. Since the end of October 2008, China's domestic methanol price has been below 2,000 yuan/ton (based on the import price comparison basis of 230 US dollars/ton), forcing many domestic manufacturers to * * Reduce the operating rate or completely stop production in order to maintain the price of methanol at 2,000~2,500 yuan/ton and maintain marginal benefits. While imports are increasing, China's demand for methanol is declining, especially from downstream formaldehyde, acetic acid and dimethyl ether manufacturers. The current price of methanol in the eastern China market has dropped to 1,625~1,650 yuan/ton, which indicates that many domestic methanol units are unlikely to increase their operating rates or restart shut down units soon after the Spring Festival.