In this article, we mainly analyze the main types and sizes of chemicals exported from China to Thailand, so that we can see what chemicals are exported from China to Thailand.
- , carbon black is the largest chemical exported from China to Thailand According to customs data, the size of China’s carbon black exports to Thailand in 2022 is close to 300,000 tons, which is the largest exported chemical among the bulk chemicals counted. Carbon black is added to rubber by blending as reinforcing agent (see reinforcing material) and filler in rubber processing, mainly used in the tire industry. Carbon black is a black powder generated by the complete combustion or pyrolysis of hydrocarbons, the main elements are carbon, a small amount of oxygen and sulfur. One of the production processes is combustion or pyrolysis, where a high temperature environment exists and is accompanied by significant energy consumption. Thailand currently has few carbon black factories, but there are many tire companies, especially in southern Thailand, where the tire industry is growing rapidly in scale, creating a large demand for carbon black consumption, thus creating a supply gap. Japan’s Tokai Carbon announced in late 2022 that it plans to build a new carbon black plant in Rayong Province, Thailand, with construction scheduled to begin in July 2023 and production to be completed by April 2025, with a carbon black capacity of 180,000 tons/year. Tokai Carbon is also investing in the construction of a carbon black plant in recognition of the rapid growth of the tire industry in Thailand and the increased demand for its carbon black. If this plant is completed, it will fill the maximum shortage of 180,000 tons/year in Thailand, and it is expected that the shortage of carbon black in Thailand will be reduced to about 150,000 tons/year.
- Thailand imports a large number of oil products and related products every year According to Chinese customs statistics, the scale of oil additives exported from China to Thailand in 2022 is around 290,000 tons, diesel and ethylene tar is around 250,000 tons, gasoline and ethanol gasoline is around 110,000 tons, kerosene is around 30,000 tons, and marine fuel oil is around 25,000 tons. Overall, Thailand imports oil and related products from China with a total scale of more than 700,000 tons/year, which is of a large scale. The main refining company in Thailand is PTT, known as Thai National Petroleum Corporation, which belongs to the 170th place of the world’s top 500 companies in 2022, with a total refining scale difference of more than 15 million tons/year in Thailand, and a total of three integrated refining and chemical plants, all belonging to PTT group companies. At present, Thailand has sufficient refining capacity and a large scale of oil output, but its oil additives products are undersupplied, mainly because the refinement rate of Thailand’s PTT industry chain is not high, resulting in a gap in the supply of oil additives. This part of the gap, mainly from the Chinese market to supplement the annual import of oil additives from China types of mixed aromatics, MTBE, alkylated oils, gasoline anti-explosive agents, etc..
- Plastic particle imports are huge, of which PVC and PP are the main representatives According to Chinese statistics, China’s exports of plastic products to Thailand, PVC exports of 35,000 tons, polyethylene more than 20,000 tons, polypropylene more than 40,000 tons, PVC more than 40,000 tons, PA6 more than 30,000 tons, SAP more than 30,000 tons, and polyformaldehyde more than 20,000 tons. In a comprehensive view, the total scale of China’s exports of polymer particle products to Thailand exceeds 210,000 tons, which is a large-scale volume.
Thailand PVC production capacity reached 940,000 tons / year, PP production capacity also reached 2.5 million tons / year, PE production capacity in 4.26 million tons / year, plastic particles production capacity belongs to one of the largest countries in Southeast Asia. The plastic particles produced in Thailand are mostly traded in the internal circulation of Southeast Asian countries and exported to Europe and the Middle East in small quantities. Therefore, this has also caused a differentiation in the local demand for plastic pellets in Thailand, of which Thailand imports plastic pellets, mostly in the local supply of insufficient grades. In addition, Thailand is also expanding its production scale of plastic pellets and adding new production capacity of biodegradable plastic products to meet the needs of the European market. 2025 will see a ban on all plastic waste imports into Thailand, which will also provide some space for local consumption of plastic pellets and Chinese exports.
- Representative chemicals exported from China to Thailand: Yuanming Powder, Phosphoric Acid, Dichloroethane, Sulfuric Acid, Ethyl Acetate, Melamine, MDI, Polyethylene Glycol, etc. Thailand imports many types of chemicals from China, and the representative products are: Yuanming powder, phosphoric acid, dichloroethane, sulfuric acid, ethyl acetate, melamine, MDI, polyethylene glycol, etc. Among them, more than 160,000 tons of Yuanmin powder, more than 110,000 tons of phosphoric acid, more than 50,000 tons of dichloroethane, more than 50,000 tons of sulfuric acid, more than 40,000 tons of ethyl acetate, more than 40,000 tons of melamine and more than 35,000 tons of MDI are imported from China every year. Chemicals imported less than 30,000 tons, there are also EVA, paraben rubber, urea, soda ash, coated asphalt, PC, water reducing agent, PBAT, isopropyl alcohol, epoxy resin, C5 petroleum resin, calcium carbide, phenolic resin, acrylic resin, ammonium chloride, etc. A wide variety of products are imported, but they are not large.
Thailand itself has a strong chemical production capacity, mainly due to the large scale of oil refining and ethylene production, Thailand’s ethylene production capacity of more than 4.6 million tons / year, propylene production capacity of more than 3.37 million tons / year, creating a large-scale integrated refining and chemical industry chain, but also to provide the basis for their own supply of chemicals. As the scale of refining in Thailand continues to increase, the market space for Chinese chemicals exported to Thailand will be further narrowed, and only by seeking differentiation and high-end, Chinese chemicals will have the feasibility of further export to Thailand.
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