Base oil imports to China fell 35% in September, compared to the same month of 2023, as 2024’s demand for foreign base stocks continued running behind last year.
China imported 103,964 metric tons of base oils in September, according to the latest data from the central government’s General Administration of Customs, down from 161,323 tons 12 months earlier. This September’s tally was the second-lowest monthly number this year and barely half the January peak of 198,055 tons.
Year-to-date base oil imports are running 14% lower than last year – 1.2 million tons to 1.4 million tons. Finished lubricant demand in the country has been hampered by a slowdown in China’s economic growth this year, and foreign base oil suppliers are also competing with domestic capacity, which surged in recent years.
But China remains one of the world’s largest base oil importers.
The customs agency reported the value of September’s imports at U.S. $105.9 million, down from $167.2 million in the same month of last year.
South Korea was again the largest country of origin for China’s base oil imports, shipping 30,122 tons of the material in September, but that was down from 61,807 tons in the same month a year ago. Singapore ranked second at 26,842 tons, significantly closer to South Korea than in September of 2023, when it supplied 39,294 tons.
Qatar and Taiwan were the next biggest sources, at 18,938 tons and 15,100 tons, respectively, compared to 22,133 tons and 14,777 tons, respectively. Imports from United Arab Emirates, where Adnoc operates an API Group III base oil plant, dropped sharply from 12,200 tons in September of 2023 to 355 tons last month.