Recent PVC Market in East China
East China includes six pro- vinces  and  one  municipality
(Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi,   Fujian  and
Shanghai). It is located in  the  middle  of  the  coastal
areas in China and has  extremely  favorable  geographical
advantages. (See Table 1) Each China is  the  region  with
the greatest PVC output in China mainland  and  also  with
the most rapid  growth  of  PVC  production  capacity  and
processing capacity in the recent years.
1. Production
(1) capacity and output
  East China had 24 PVC producers at the end of 1998. Table
2 shows the capacity and output of PVC producers  in  East
China in 1997 and 1998.
  We can see the following from Table 2:  ( a)   The  total
capacity reached 1.137 million t/a at  the  end  of  1998,
accounting for more than a half of the national total  ( 2
.22 million t/a); (b) The capacity in 1998 was 26.5% higher
than 1997; (c) The  output  in  1998  was  745  000  tons,
accounting for 48% of the national total.
  Jiangsu will soon have 2 more large PVC producers.   They
are Huasu Plastic Products Co., Ltd. and  Jiangyin  Huashi
Plastics Co., Ltd., both based on imported VCM.   The  100
000 t/a production unit in Huasu Plastic Products Co., Ltd
.   is  already  completed  and  is  now   conducting   wet
commissioning. (See CCR Vol. 10, No. 37, Page 16)   Huashi
Plastics Co., Ltd. will develop a capacity of 100 000  t/a
in two phases. The 50 000 t/a production unit in the first
phase will be completed in March 2000.  Besides,   Beifang
Chlor-Alkali Group Corporation has also  made  a  plan  to
expand the capacity by another 100 000 t/a.  Jiangsu  will
therefore become the area with the greatest PVC output  in
Each China.
(2) consumption of imported VCM
  LG Plastics Co., Ltd. (Tianjin LG) took the lead in using
imported VCM in the PVC production. The price of  VCM  was
very low in the international market. Using  imported  VCM
to produce PVC can greatly reduce the production cost  and
  improve  the  product  quality.   It   can   also   solve
environmental pollution  caused  by  the  calcium  carbide
process.   Production  units  using  the  calcium  carbide
process in quite a few PVC producers in  East  China  have
suspended production and started to use  imported  VCM  as
raw material. Almost all PVC  producers  in  Jiangsu  have
rapidly expanded their polymerization capacity.   The  new
production units in Huasu Plastic Products Co., Ltd.   and
Huashi Plastics Co., Ltd. are also based on imported  VCM.
The consumption of imported VCM  has  therefore  increased
fast. Table 3 shows the consumption of imported VCM in PVC
producers in East China.
  Qingdao Chemical Plant started to import  VCM  in  August
this year, and Fuzhou No. 2 Chemical Industrial Group Co.,
Ltd. will also use imported VCM.
  Port facilities taking imported VCM are  mainly  existing
facilities for  liquefied  petroleum  gas.   Lots  of  new
facilities will be constructed this year to meet the  need
of the increasing VCM import amount.  Table  4  shows  the
main port facilities taking imported VCM in East China.
  The price of VCM in the internaional market  has  made  a
drastic rise this year and the supply  can  not  meet  the
demand. Some of PVC producers based  on  imported  VCM  in
  East  China  such  as  Hangzhou   Electrochemical   Group
Corporation have been forced to restore the production  of
their calcium carbide units.
  Table 5 shows the import  price  and  amount  of  VCM  in
Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Shanghai this year.
2. Market
(1) price
  With the impact of the Asian financial crisis,   the  PVC
price made a big margin drop in 1998. Take Shanghai  Chlor
-Alkali Chemical Industrial Co., Ltd.  for  instance,   the
average annual price in 1998 was 21.3% lower than 1997.
  The PVC price varied a lot in different  seasons  of  the
year. The market price in Shanghai was 7 650 yuan per  ton
in early 1998 but dropped to 5 350 yuan  per  ton  in  mid
-August.
The PVC self-sufficiency rate is relatively low in  China,
and the market price in all regions  is  affected  by  the
import price and amount. East China has a  vast  territory
and there is a great difference in the PVC market price in
different areas. Great  quantities  of  PVC  are  used  in
Fujian and the market price fluctuates a lot with the  CIF
price of imported products. Shandong  is  close  to  North
China. There is a great PVC output is Beijing and  Tianjin
and the market price in Fujian is greatly affected by  the
market in North China.  The  PVC  market  in  Jiangsu  and
Zhejiang is somewhat in between. Table 6 shows  the  price
of imported PVC in Shanghai in 1999.
(2) users
  The users of  PVC  in  China  are  scattered  with  rapid
changes in product variety and processing capacity.  
Jiangsu Province
  Table 7  shows  partial  PVC  processing  enterprises  in
Jiangsu. PVC processing in  Jiangsu  was  concentrated  in
Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Area (Suzhou, Wuxi,   Changzhou  and
other areas along the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway) in the past.
With the recent rapid  development,   however,   following
processing areas have been formed:
Suz