RePlas 2014: China’s plastic scrap imports rebound in 2014

Despite hurdles caused by economic factors and regulatory scrutiny, imported plastic scrap is flowing into China at a slightly accelerated rate in 2014 compared to the year before.

Cong Ze of the Tianjin Information Office of China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), provided attendees of the RePlas 2014 (Autumn) event in China with a statistical breakdown of plastic scrap imports into the nation.

Cong noted that nearly all types of plastic scrap imports into China declined in 2013, but that imports of some grades (including pellets, which are up by 8 percent by volume in 2014) have rebounded. He attributed the rebound, which he says started in February of 2014, in part to adjustments made by shippers in reaction Operation Green Fence.

Despite the uncertainties caused by Green Fence, Cong said 120 countries sent plastic scrap to China in 2013, with Hong Kong being the leading point of departure for shipments into China with some 100,000 metric tons shipped in the first 10 months of 2014. Cong listed the United States, Belgium, Taiwan and Canada as “places where imports are rising” in 2014.

As a trend, Cong also said “SOEs (state-owned enterprises) are securing the volume [while] the private sector share is down.” Recyclers gathered at the RePlas event said this is tied to a 2014 lending climate in China that favors SOEs with open lines of credit while private sector manufacturers and recyclers have struggled to obtain financing and letters of credit.

Cong said the GAC remains concerned about certain plastic scrap import practices, including:
•    low values declared on customs forms in order to evade duty costs;
•    water and other contaminants in shipments, including contaminated or dirty plastic film scrap; and
•    concealed high-value items in shipments, such as reusable rolls of plastic film surrounded by film scrap on the outside.

The GAC official also cited as a trend the increased use of Vietnam as a staging area for plastic scrap shipments before they enter China. “Vietnam is being used for sorting and processing, with equipment being sent from China to Vietnam. This is a relatively new issue,” said Cong. He added that recyclers who ship such equipment overseas for processing must declare and amortize the cost of that equipment. “We encourage companies to take the initiative to report this or the problems could be serious later.”

The RePlas 2014 (Autumn) event, organized by the China Scrap Plastics Association (CSPA), was Nov. 6-7 at the Coli Hotel in Shenzhen, China.