Analysis of China’s Needle Coke Imports in 2019 

Analysis of China’s Needle Coke Imports in 2019 

1.Statistics of China's Petroleum-based needle coke imports in 2019

China's Petroleum-based needle coke imports in 2019 were 160,900 tons, an increase of 36.93% over the same period in 2018. The import volume of China's Petroleum-based needle coke in 2019 has increased compared with the same period in 2018, mainly due to greater demand for anode material. The output of China's anode material in 2019 expanded by 83.74% compared with the same period in 2018 owing to its characteristics of good circulation and safety performance. At present, China’s needle coke is used as the raw material of the anode material, and it has a slightly larger share than natural graphite. In addition, the connector coke for graphite electrodes and the ultra-large graphite electrode coke are mainly from imported Petroleum-based needle coke.

In 2019, China imported 111,100 tons of Petroleum-based needle coke from the United Kingdom (produced by P66) and imported 32,800 tons of Petroleum-based needle coke from the United States (produced by P66). Petroleum-based needle coke imported from the United Kingdom and the United States is mainly used for anode materials and ultra-high-sized graphite electrodes.

2.2019 China Coal-based needle coke import statistics

China's Coal-based needle coke imports totally 87,800 tons in 2019, a decrease of 6.90% from the same period in 2018. In 2019, 59,600 tons of Coal-based needle coke were imported from South Korea (produced by South Korea PMC), and 27,300 tons of Coal-based needle coke were imported from Japan, reduced by 9.38% and 17.06% compared with same period last year. The main reasons for reduction:

① China's needle coke production capacity has increased, and output has gradually been released;

② China's graphite electrode market has a large supply and demand, prices are in a downward trend, profit margins are shrinking, and demand for needle coke is decreasing.

Proportion of Chinese Coal-based Needle Coke by Country

China's Needle Coke Import Forecast in 2020

Affected by the epidemic in the first quarter of 2020, downstream graphite electrode and anode material manufacturers delayed starting or reduced production, the procurement plan was postponed, and the production volume was reduced from the previous period. It is expected that the imported needle coke will decrease at the beginning of the year and will be restored when the epidemic situation ends, but from the overall market point of view, the negative terminal new energy vehicles still enjoy the policy dividend, the development prospects are positive, the demand will continue to increase. There are steps for improvement in the domestic production technology of Petroleum-based needle coke, as a whole, Imported needle coke is still the main type, and the amount of imports will continue to increase; while Coal-based needle coke will have a new production capacity in 2020, and the production and quality of Coal-based needle coke will continue to increase. The quality of Korea needle coke is close to that of domestic coke, and it is highly substitutable. It is expected that the import volume of Coal-based needle coke will decrease in 2020.