Metallurgy / Chemicals / Rubber & Plastics

The total import and export volume was 483.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 2.7%. In the first quarter of this year, the import and export volume of China's mining and chemical industry achieved a slight year-on-year growth, with exports reaching 178.6 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 7%; The import volume was 304.7 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 0.4%. In response, a spokesperson for the China National Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Minerals and Chemicals stated that the export of China's minerals and chemicals industry has significantly stabilized since the beginning of this year, and it is expected to continue the current trend in the future, with a slight increase for the entire year.

Significant stabilization of exports

According to customs data, in the first quarter of this year, although the export proportion of mineral products was not as high as that of chemical and hardware building materials products, the overall export volume achieved double-digit growth year-on-year, higher than the growth rate of chemical and hardware building materials products exports. Customs data shows that from January to March, China's chemical product exports amounted to 80.3 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%, accounting for 45% of the industry's total exports; The export value of hardware and building materials products was 55.7 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%, accounting for 31.2% of the industry's total export volume; The export value of mineral products was 42.6 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 10.1%, accounting for 23.8% of the industry's total export volume. A spokesperson for the Chamber of Commerce believes that the surge in steel exports has become the main reason for the double-digit growth of mineral product exports.

In terms of specific products, the quantity, amount, and unit price of finished oil exports have achieved year-on-year growth, and the export momentum has surged. According to customs data, from January to March, China's refined oil exports reached 18.15 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 59.7%. The export amount was 14.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 70.7%, and the average export unit price increased by 6.9%. The growth rate of steel exports ranks second. Data shows that from January to March, China's steel exports reached 20.8 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 53.2%, with an export amount of 25.2 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 36.7%. "Influenced by the global high inflation, the international market price of refined oil and steel products is significantly higher than the domestic price, and their export has achieved a substantial growth," said a spokesman of the Chamber of Commerce.

From the perspective of the export market, benefiting from the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), China's mining and chemical industry has achieved double-digit year-on-year growth in exports to South Korea and Vietnam. Meanwhile, due to the rapid growth of the Indian economy in recent years, China's mining and chemical industry has also achieved double-digit growth in exports to India. In addition, due to trade frictions between China and the United States and the impact of high inflation in the United States, there has been a significant year-on-year decrease in exports to the United States. According to customs data, the export value of China's mining and chemical industry to South Korea from January to March was 13.2 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 27.7%; The export value to India was 8.9 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 15.2%; The export value to Vietnam was 8.1 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%; The export value to the United States was 14.6 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 22.4%.

Import fluctuation and mutual occurrence

In terms of imports, in the first quarter, the import volume of mineral products achieved a double-digit year-on-year growth, but the import volume of chemical products and hardware and building materials products both showed a year-on-year decrease, with hardware and building materials products experiencing a double-digit decrease in import volume. Data shows that from January to March, China's import volume of mineral products was 139.3 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 10.1%, accounting for 45.7% of the industry's total import volume; The import volume of chemical products was 157.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 5.6%, accounting for 51.7% of the industry's total import volume; The import value of hardware and building materials was 8.1 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 20.7%, accounting for 2.6% of the industry's total imports.

From the perspective of specific products, the import volume of crude oil, iron ore, and copper ore all achieved a slight year-on-year growth, mainly due to the steady growth of China's economy, and the continued growth of demand for resource related commodities. According to customs data, from January to March, China imported 136.37 million tons of crude oil, an increase of 6.7% year-on-year, and the average import unit price decreased by 10.4% year-on-year; China imported 294.43 million tons of iron ore, an increase of 9.8% year-on-year, and the average import unit price decreased by 12.1% year-on-year; China imported 6.66 million tons of copper ore, an increase of 5.1% year-on-year, and the average import unit price decreased by 13.6% year-on-year.

From a market perspective, in the first quarter, the import volume of China's mining and chemical industry from Australia, Indonesia, and Brazil increased year-on-year, while imports from Saudi Arabia showed a slight decrease. According to customs data, from January to March, the import volume of China's five minerals and chemical industry from Australia was 35.8 billion US dollars, an increase of 11% year-on-year; The import volume from Indonesia was 14.6 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 19.7%; The import volume from Brazil was 13.9 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 9.5%; The import volume from Saudi Arabia was 16.6 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 3.7%.