GPCA ’17: GCC chemical exports to China fall for second year in 2016

DUBAI (ICIS)–The Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) chemical exports to China fell for a second consecutive year in 2016, posting a 13% decline to $11.3bn, according to the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA).

In 2015, the contraction was recorded at 15%, the GPCA said in its Facts and Figures 2016 report released during the 12th Annual GPCA Forum in Dubai.

“While 2015 matched overall dynamics, in 2016 export revenue from China declined twice as fast as overall export revenue. This was driven by stronger depreciation of basic/intermediate export prices which declined by 6% overall,” it said.

The GCC’s overall chemical exports in 2016 stood at $48.8bn, down by 6% from the previous year, according to the GPCA.

China accounts for a third of the GCC’s overall chemical exports to Asia, “which is a significant increase from just 20% a decade ago”, according to the GPCA.

Picture: Qingdao port in Shandong province, China. (Photographer: Yu Fangping/Pacific Press via ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock)