China's synthetic rubber production capacity will leap this year

In the first year of the 12th Five Year Plan, the expansion momentum of China's synthetic rubber industry remains strong, with a continuous increase in the number of enterprises and a rapid expansion of production scale, which further exacerbates the pressure of overcapacity. This is the information learned by the reporter from the 6th Second Council and 20th Industry Annual Meeting of China Synthetic Rubber Industry Association held in Xi'an on November 8-9.

According to Hu Jie, Executive Vice Chairman of the China Synthetic Rubber Industry Association, China's synthetic rubber industry, after ranking first in consumption in 2003 and first in production in 2009, is expected to leap to a higher production capacity this year. By the end of this year, the total capacity of China's major synthetic rubber plants is expected to reach 3.33 million tons, of which 520000 tons will be added this year, an increase of 18.5% compared to 2010. It is expected that the total production of synthetic rubber for the whole year will exceed 2.7 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 12%.

According to the current development trend, the association predicts that by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan, the annual production capacity of synthetic rubber plants in China will approach 6 million tons. Assuming the import volume remains unchanged, the overall utilization rate of the device will only be 63%; Assuming 50% of the import volume is replaced by domestic products, the overall utilization rate of the equipment will only be 74%.

Qi Runtong, Secretary General of the Synthetic Rubber Association, pointed out that in the future, synthetic rubber enterprises will face fierce market competition, and there will be a significant shortage in the supply of raw materials for synthetic rubber production, such as butadiene and isoprene. Therefore, Qi Runtong stated that curbing overcapacity is the primary task that the synthetic rubber industry needs to address.