my country’s market demand for paraxylene continues to grow and its dependence on imported products gradually decreases

Paraxylene, with the chemical formula C8H10, is one of the important aromatic compounds. It is a colorless and transparent liquid with an aromatic smell. It is insoluble in water and miscible in organic solvents such as ethanol and chloroform.

The upstream of the paraxylene industry chain is the supply of materials and production equipment such as crude oil, naphtha, atmospheric and vacuum distillation units, and continuous reforming units; the midstream is the production of products; the downstream is widely used in pesticides, coatings, resins, dyes, Polyester fiber and other fields.

According to the “Paraxylene Industry Market Status and Investment Prospects Forecast Report in 2023” released by the Industrial Research Center, as my country’s economy With continuous development, the scale of industrial production continues to expand, industries such as polyester fiber and pesticides develop rapidly, and the market demand for paraxylene continues to grow. In 2022, my country’s apparent demand for paraxylene will exceed 35 million tons.

In recent years, driven by market demand, the number of paraxylene manufacturers in my country has continued to increase, the production scale has continued to expand, and the output has continued to grow. However, it is still unable to meet market needs. The market is in short supply and the industry still has large room for development. my country’s paraxylene production was approximately 15 million tons in 2019, and will increase to approximately 25 million tons in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 19% from 2019 to 2022.

From the perspective of import and export trade, my country is a major importer of paraxylene. The market is highly dependent on imported products, and product prices are greatly affected by the international market. However, with the continuous expansion of domestic paraxylene production capacity, the market’s dependence on imported products has continued to decrease in recent years, and the number of paraxylene imports has shown a downward trend. In 2018, my country’s paraxylene import volume was approximately 16 million tons, and in 2022, the import volume dropped to approximately 10 million tons. South Korea is my country’s main importer of paraxylene, accounting for more than 40% of total imports, ranking first, followed by Japan, accounting for about 16%.

There are currently a large number of paraxylene manufacturers in China, most of which are concentrated in the eastern coastal areas. Enterprises above designated size include Zhejiang Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Hengli Group Co., Ltd., Ningbo Zhongjin Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Sinopec Hainan Refining and Chemical Co., Ltd., Fujian Fuhaichuang Petrochemical Co., Ltd., etc. As the market demand for paraxylene continues to grow and my country’s petrochemical industry production technology continues to advance, large enterprises have expanded production in recent years and extended their layout to the upstream and downstream industrial chains. As the industry continues to develop, the integration trend of my country’s paraxylene industry chain will continue to deepen in the future, the product self-sufficiency rate will continue to increase, and the industry development prospects are good.

Industry analysts said that with the continuous advancement of production technology, the application of core technologies and key equipment has gradually matured, and project approval rights have gradually been decentralized. , my country’s paraxylene production capacity will continue to expand, product self-sufficiency rate will continue to increase, and it is expected to transform from supply shortage to overcapacity. In the context of increasingly fierce competition in the industry, paraxylene manufacturers need to improve their independent innovation capabilities, accelerate technological progress, update production equipment, eliminate backward production capacity, and enhance their core competitiveness.