Brief Analysis of Silicone Export in March 2023

From January to March 2023, the exports of polysiloxane (the primary form of silicone) totalled 36,400 mt, up 12.52% on the month, but down 21.72％ on the year. YTD exports through March stood at 100,200 mt, a year-on-year decrease of 22.02%. The exports to South Korea took a lion’s share in March with 7,100 mt, down 0.70% from the previous month.

Here is detailed information of China’s polysiloxane exports to the top five destination in March.

South Korea continued to rank first in exporting polysilicon from China, and the demand in Southeast Asia remained at a relatively high level. The top five destinations in March were South Korea, India, the United States, Vietnam and Turkey, and their total trade volume accounted for 48.02% of the total export volume. Among them, Vietnam and Turkey return to the top five places by replacing Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates.

According to SMM, the increase in export volume in March was mainly due to the improvement in the overseas pandemic situation, the recovery of downstream consumption and the production resumption in various industries overseas. Especially in Southeast Asian countries such as India and Vietnam, as government stepped up the efforts to increase per capita consumption level amid the rapid development of medical and manufacturing fields, the demand for their silicone products have increased rapidly. At the same time, some overseas silicone factories have slightly reduced the supply due to maintenance. On the whole, slightly stronger overseas demand for silicone accompanied by a drop in its supply has led to an increase in China's exports.