China Plastics Industry（2011）

China Plastics Processing Industry Association

（No.6East Chang’an Avenue，Beijing 100740，China）

China Plastics Industry（2011）

China Plastics Processing Industry Association

（No.6East Chang’an Avenue，Beijing 100740，China）

General situation of China plastics industry in 2011was reviewed，including the output and export／import of plastics products，synthetic resins，and plastics processing machinery，as well as major economic data，such as the total industrial values，sales and profits of plastics products，etc.Analysis of the market of plastics products in 2011was made，and the developing trend of China plastics industry in 2012was proposed.

plastics industry；plastics product；synthetic resin；plastics machinery；additive；output；export；import；market；developing trend

The year of 2011is the first year of the 12thFiveyear Plan.With the rapid growth of national economy，China plastics industry achieved good performance，and could meet various demands in the domestic market.However，with the slowdown of export growth and the rise of production cost，the prospects of plastics industry would be still far from being satisfactory.

1 Basic scenarios of plastics products sector in 2011

1.1 Output of plastics products rose markedly

In 2011，the total output of plastics products of companies whose sales value is more than 20million yuan is 54743.1kt，ayearly growth rate of 22.35 percentages.Shares of different plastics products are shown in Tab.1.The total output of plastics films reached 8436.4kt，up 11.17percentages，of which agricultural films account for 1467.8kt，up 14.49 percentages；that of plastics foams 1411.6kt，up 25.38percentages；that of man－made and synthetic leather 2402.6kt，up 9.57percentages；that of daily articles 4583.7kt，up 5.26percentages；that of others 37908.8kt，up 28.59percentages.

1.2 Production value went up steadily and hit a new high

There are 12966companies with sales value more than 20million yuan in 2011.Their total production value was 1607.98billion yuan，ayearly growth of 2 7.5percentages.It accounted for 9.7 5percentages

Tab.1 Output and annual growth rate of plastics products in 2011

in the light industry，and decreased by 0.52 percentages.Seen from Tab.2，total production value of 1374companies in plastics films sector reached 212.97billion yuan，up 28.1percentages；that of 2323companies in plastics plates，pipes and profiles sector 381.17billion yuan，up 30.1percentages；that of 1733companies in plastics filament and woven products sector 191.17billion yuan，up 36.1 percentages；that of 1731companies in daily articles sector 182.07billion yuan，up 24.1percentages.It is shown that，the production of plastics products in several important fields，such as packaging，construction，and household，saw a rapid rise.

1.3 Main economic indicators maintained a rapid growth

Between Jan.and Nov.2011，the main business income made by 12962companies with sales value more than 20million yuan reached 1398.77billion yuan and increased by 27.73percentages；the profit and taxes of that was 108.24billion yuan，up 28.8 percentages，in which the profit accounted for 73.83 billion yuan，up 29.32percentages；the employee of that reached 2427.3thousand，up 8.73percentages.But the amount of loss was 4.35billion yuan，6 percentages higher than the figure of last year.

Tab.2 Total production values and growth rate of plastics products in 2011

Tab.3 Profits and taxes and their growth rate of plastics products between Jan.and Nov.2011

1.4 The domestic market demand was still large

In 2011，the whole production value in plastics industry reached 1576.48billion yuan，ayearly growth of 27.5percentages；the ratio of output to sales was 0.98.In addition，the export value grew 9.8percentages to 227.67billion yuan，and accounted for 14.4percentages of the whole production value，1percentage lower than the figure of last year.

1.5 Export amount of plastics products decreased，but export value increased

According to the data from China Customs，in 2011，the export amount and value of plastics products are 13047kt and 39.31billion USD，shown in Tab.4；the former is 10.8percentages lower than the figure of last year，however，the latter is 9.36 percentages higher than it.The import amount and value of plastics products are 1848kt and 18.07 billion USD.The average unit price of import products is 3.24times more than that of export products.It is shown that most of export products are low value－added commodity.

1.6 Output of plastics machines showed a small drop，and production value increased slightly

In 2011，the production value of the national plastics machines，which are made by 330companies with sales value more than 20million yuan，increased 16.4percentages to 46.75billion yuan；the output decreased 4.31percentages to 240000sets（units）；the export amount and value are 44100sets（units）and 1.32billion USD；the import amount and value are 13400sets（units）and 1.92billion USD.The amount of export products is 3.29times than that of import products，but the average price of the latter is 4.79times than that of the former.

Tab.4 Export／import amount and value and their growth rate of plastics products in 2011

The national plastics machines not only meet domestic demand，but also have been exported with a year－on year growth.However，the lower unit price of export products highlights the gap between the national brands and that of developed countries.

1.7 Output and consumption of synthetic resins

In 2011，the output of synthetic resins in China increased 10percentages，and self－supporting rate grew 3.97percentages to 0.725；the import amount decreased by 858kt，down 3.6percentages；the apparent consumption increased 3.9percentages to 66140kt.

Seen from Tab.5，among the five general resins，the consumption of polyethylene is more than that of polypropylene and poly（vinyl chloride），respectively，ranking the first，of which growth rate was 6.9 percentages.And the consumption of polypropylene exceeded that of poly（vinyl chloride），being the second one，of which growth rate was 5.0 percentages.Poly（vinyl chloride）ranked the third，of which growth rate was 10.2percentages.The output of polypropylene grew rapidly and was close to that of polyethylene.Meanwhile，the output of polystyrene and acrylonitrile－butadiene－styrene copolymer increased 12.4percentages and 14.8percentages，respectively，and their self－supporting rate went up steadily.

Tab.5 Output and consumption of synthetic resins in 2011kt

2 Analysis of market demand of plastics products sector in 2011

2.1 The higher growth rate accounted by new statistical standards masked the decline in growth rate

In 2011，National Bureau of Statistics introduced a new statistical standard，which only reflected the status of the companies with sales value more than 20 million yuan.If the statistical data were calculated by original standard，more detailed industrial situation and growth rate would be clearly seen.

In 2011，according to the new statistical standard，there are 12966companies whose sales value is more than 20million yuan；their output and value of plastics products increased 22.35percentages and 27.5 percentages，respectively.However，according to the original statistical standard，their output and value of plastics products were 68303.9kt and 1771.07billion yuan，up 17.15percentages and 24.35percentages，respectively.So it could be calculated that the growth rate of their output and value in 2011declined by 3.99 percentages and 6.73percentages，compared with that in 2010，which was consistent with the decline of apparent consumption in 2011.It was caused by insufficient demand in domestic and foreign market.2.2 Consumption of synthetic resins grew slightly because of weak market demand

Because of weak market demand，the growth rate of consumption of synthetic resins was only 3.9 percentages，8.0percentages lower than that of last year.Among the five general resins，the consumption of polyethylene increased 5.0percentages，which indicated that the market demand for general plastics packaging products was weak，and the limiting plastics policy was further strengthened.The consumption of polypropylene increased 6.9 percentages，indicating that the application fields of plastics woven products，BOPP，PP－R pipes，modified PP，and injection molded parts were widen.The consumption of poly（vinyl chloride）increased 10.2percentages，indicating that the market demand for pipes，profiles and films were stable.The consumption of acrylonitrile－butadiene－styrene copolymer decreased 0.8percentages，indicating that the market demand for plastics products used in automobiles，home appliances，office supplies areas shrank.

3 Developing trend of China plastics industry in 2012

3.1 Prudent fiscal policy would promote a steady growth of plastics industry

In 2011，China′s economy maintained a rapid growth，but decreased by quarter.The main business income and sales value of 12966companies sharply increased 27percentages.In 2012，the government will continue to follow prudent fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy，so as to maintain 7.5percentages growth rate of GDP.

In this context，in 2012，the consumption of plastics products will go up steadily.In the long run，the application of plastics products will be widen because of their excellent performances.

3.2 Export of plastics products will continue to grow

With deepened debt crisis in Europe in 2012，the market demand and consumption in developed countries will decrease，and thus slower the export growth of plastics products.The largest market demand for national export plastics products will be still from United States；the market demand in Japan，Europe，South America，Africa，the Middle East，Russia，India and other countries will still go up steadily，because there are rigid requirements in foreign countries for low－tech commodity.But the growth rate depends on the upturn of the market demand.Recently，higher crude oil price leads to a rise of synthetic resin prices，indicating that the market demand began recovering.

3.3 Transformation from speed－rising－type to qualityrising－type should be accelerated

At present，the transformation and upgradation of plastics industry have been restricted by low processing technology and unreasonable product structure.Higher labor cost and labor shortages will continue to affect the increase of industrial value and profit，resulting in the rising potential business risks.The lack of SME′s liquidity is very difficult to solve in the short term.Export－oriented enterprises will be still under enormous pressure by the constraints of shrinking international market and currency exchange rates.The survival and development of the companies greatly depend on the speeding－up of transformation，the development of new technologies，the enhancement of the brand and the reduction of costs.The government and industrial association should stress technological innovation and industrial cluster in 2012to meet changes.

（Translated by Li Ying）