Currently, China has initiated an anti-dumping probe on PTA imports, limited to PTA imports of general trade, while PTA shipments of other trade models like processing trade, etc, have been excluded from this anti-dumping case.
According to estimates, about 40 percent of China's total PTA imports in recent years have been meant more so for the processing trade and imports from Korea and Thailand amounted to 3,900,000 tons in 2008.
Off this figure, import volume of general trade accounted for 2,340,000 tons and the rest processing trade. Even if China imposes anti-dumping duty on PTA imports from these two countries, it can only do so in 2010.
China's total production capacity will reach 16.26 million tons in 2010 with a new capacity addition of 3.9 million tons by then, which could entirely fill up the volumes of PTA imports from Korea and Thailand.
China's anti-dumping targets are limited to PTA imports originating only from Korea and Thailand and at present, other countries of the Asian sub-continent such as Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, have substantial spare capacity.
Once China's domestic PTA plants maliciously pull up prices and hurt interests of polyester factories, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia and other countries, who are now operating their plants at low capacities, will increase their PTA exports.
Therefore, on the whole, the current anti-dumping charges initiated by domestic PTA manufacturers will not hold as due to excessive PTA capacity in Asia, it will never be able to change the buyers market prevalent in PTA supplies.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - China