Analysis of the development status of China's plastic film import and export market in 2020

In recent years, various countries/regions in the world have issued a ban on plastic products, and China also issued the opinions on Further Strengthening the Treatment of Plastic Pollution in 2020, which has a great impact on plastic products. In terms of import and export trade, China's plastic film industry is mainly export-oriented, but it achieved a trade deficit of us $613 million from January to May 2020. In 2019, the total import volume of China's plastic film industry reached 12.765 billion US dollars, mainly from Japan and South Korea. In terms of exports, the completed export volume of China's plastic film industry is on the rise, reaching 14.102 billion US dollars in 2019. The distribution of export countries/regions is relatively scattered.

1. China's plastic film industry is mainly export-oriented, and the plastic limit will affect the export demand from January to May 2020

According to the General Administration of Customs, China's imports and exports of plastic film industry totaled us $26.867 billion in 2019, up 3.28 percent year on year. The import value was US $12.765 billion, down 1.68% year on year. Exports totaled us $14.102 billion, up 8.19% year on year; The trade surplus was $1.337 billion.

From January to May in 2020, the total import and export volume of China's plastic film industry is 9.455 billion US dollars, among which the import volume is 5.034 billion US dollars and the export volume is 4.421 billion US dollars. The trade deficit of US $613 million was mainly due to the fact that China's plastic film export products are mainly low-end products. Affected by plastic ban in other countries/regions, China's export market demand for plastic film products decreases.

2. Japan and South Korea are the main source countries for China's plastic film imports

From 2015 to 2018, the total import value of China's plastic film manufacturing industry showed a year-on-year growth trend, but in 2019, it decreased compared with the previous year. China's plastic film manufacturing industry imported $12.765 billion in 2019, down 1.68 percent year on year.

In terms of import amount by country/region, the total amount of plastic film products imported by China from Japan in 2019 was the highest, reaching 4.375 billion US dollars, accounting for 32.27% of the total import amount. It was followed by The Republic of Korea, with imports of us $2.711 billion, accounting for 21.24 per cent of the total. Imports to the United States amounted to $1.665 billion, or 13.04% of the total.

3. The export volume is on the rise, and the export area is relatively dispersed

From 2015 to 2019, the overall export volume of China's plastic film manufacturing industry showed an upward trend. In 2016, the export volume of China's plastic film manufacturing industry reached 9.819 billion US dollars, down 5.51% year-on-year and the lowest value in recent years. In 2019, the plastic film manufacturing industry realized exports of us $14.102 billion, up 8.19% year on year.

In terms of export countries, Vietnam, the United States, India, The Republic of Korea and Hong Kong ranked the top five countries and regions in terms of the export volume of China's plastic film manufacturing industry in 2019. In 2019, the accumulative export volume to Vietnam reached us $1.52 billion, accounting for 10.78% of the total export volume. The cumulative export to the United States was 1.027 billion US dollars, accounting for 7.29% of the total export. The cumulative export to Indonesia was 745 million US dollars, accounting for 5.28%. The accumulative export to South Korea reached us $636 million, accounting for 4.51%; The cumulative export to Hong Kong, China was US $616 million, accounting for 4.37%.