China March ethanol imports jump more than fourfold on year

Singapore — Chinese imports of ethanol in March jumped more than fourfold year on year, with the bulk of the rise was due to denatured product from Indonesia, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Imports increased to 32,845 cu m last month -- compared with 7,389 cu m in March last year -- with 31,565 cu m of Indonesian denatured ethanol passing through Chinese customs. The last time China saw imports from Indonesia of similar magnitude is during November 2018 whereby 59,924 cu m of denatured ethanol was imported.

Market participants were surprised at the size of the cargo, pointing to Indonesia's limited ethanol capacity. According to Platts Analytics, Indonesia had a total annual ethanol manufacturing capacity of only 40,000 cu m.

One trader thought the ethanol could be of US origin, due to Indonesia's limited capacity. US origin denatured ethanol imports incur a 70% import duty in China with some exemptions bringing this down to 45%.

In 2018, the import of US ethanol via Indonesia and Malaysia occurred in 2018 as traders sought avenues to skirt Chinese tariffs. [China seen importing US ethanol via alternative routes amid trade war] [https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/agriculture/111318-china-seen-importing-us-ethanol-via-alternative-routes-amid-trade-war]

On March 18 this year, Indonesia imposed a temporary ban on ethanol exports due to the coronavirus, local media reported.

Meanwhile, 1,270 cu m of denatured ethanol was taken from South Africa in March 2020, lower than 3,610cu m offtook from South Africa in March 2019.

In terms of exports, China shipped 261,223 cu m of ethanol in March 2020 versus 2,122 cu m in March 2019.

Around 250,000 cu m of denatured and 3,901 cu m of undenatured ethanol were exported to South Korea in March, versus zero volumes in March 2019.

Separately, Taiwan offtook 1,414 cu m of undenatured Chinese ethanol in March, up from 303 cu m in the same month last year, and 1,253 cu m of denatured ethanol versus zero volumes previously.

A Chinese market participant reported brisk demand for Chinese ethanol for medical purposes, with volumes exported to South Korea, Taiwan and small parcels to Thailand.