Natural Rubber Import Down to Guangdong Province in Aug 2016

[2016-12-01]

 USA Antidumping on Chinese Tires Will Cut Down the Import Demand

According to China Customs statistics, during January-August 2016, Guangdong Province imported 73,000 tons of natural rubber, down 12.7% year-on-year (YOY); worth RMB 590 million yuan, down 22.1% YOY; at the average import price of 8,071 yuan per ton, down 10.8% YOY. Therein, August import quantity was 8,241 tons, down 14% YOY; worth 74.65 million yuan, down 18.4% YOY; at the average price of 9,058 yuan per ton, down 5.1% YOY.

1. Characteristics of Natural Rubber Import to Guangdong in August:

(1) The single-month import showed big fluctuation this year. The import reached 17,000 tons in April, the record high since last year, then went down from May to June; afterwards, small rebound was seen in July and August, with 8,241 tons in August up 2.8% from July; August import price was 9,058 yuan/ton, down 2.3% from July. See the chart below:
 
(2) The import increased by processing trade.

(3) The import was mostly from the ASEAN countries.

(4) State-owned enterprises made the import more than before.

2. Notable Problems:

USA antidumping measure on Chinese tires damps Chinese import of rubbers. On August 29, U.S. Department of Commerce made a preliminary ruling that China-made tires for trucks/buses are dumped in America at the margins of 20.87%-22.57%. Supposing each year China exports truck/bus tires around 10 million pieces to the USA at the price of USD100/piece, the ruling will have big impact on one billion dollars of export value. The antidumping duty imposed will cut off the price advantage of the Chinese tires, leading to reduction of the export. Consequently, related Chinese manufacturers will have less demand for rubbers and import them less.