BOPET Film Market in China Rebounded Amidst Upward Costs Pressure

In a surprising turn of events, the BOPET Film market in China experienced a decent rebound during the first half of April 2024 on the back of higher production costs that tightened supply and intensified buying pressure. This resulted in a significant cost increase for producers and downstream industries that rely on BOPET Film for their operations.

Following a drone attack on a major Russian oil refinery and simmering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Crude oil prices experienced a sharp rise during the middle of April 2024. This, in turn, triggered a domino effect that impacted the cost of downstream petrochemicals, including PET, a key raw material for BOPET Film production. Even before the oil price hike, the BOPET Film market in China was grappling with a supply crunch. The primary port inventories in East China decreased by 7.3% to approximately 778k tons before the national holiday on April 5th April 2025. Meanwhile, the rise in PET feedstock costs translated into higher production costs for BOPET Film manufacturers. Faced with this financial squeeze, manufacturers had a minimum choice but to raise their final product prices to maintain profitability. This upward pressure on prices was further amplified by the limited supply options available in the market. Before the Labor Day holiday, domestic demand for BOPET Film typically rises from the downstream packaging sector. This influx of buyers from downstream industries further intensified the upward pressure on BOPET Film prices. The demand for BOPET Film was not just a temporary holiday season blip. Strong and consistent demand persists from downstream industries that utilize BOPET Film for applications such as plastic bottle packaging. Restocking requirements account for most of the downstream demand from businesses that have boosted transaction activity. Even if the production of textiles has increased to almost full capacity, buyers were placing orders because of the high projected demand for completed goods. This ongoing demand adds another layer of pressure to the already strained supply situation, contributing significantly to the overall price increase to settle at USD 1125/MT BOPET Film 13 µ (Spot) Ex Shanghai, China during mid-April 2024.

As per ChemAnalyst, the BOPET Film market in China might showcase a downtrend during May 2024 due to the recent implementations of anti-dumping obligations by the European Union.  The European Commission just took a big step to protect European businesses that manufacture PET locally. The commission has employed tariffs on PET imminent from China, to promote the local refineries in Europe. This might create a surplus of feedstock PET and thus reduce the cost pressure for manufacturing BOPET Film during this timeframe.