Base oil imports to China sank further during the first quarter of the year, falling 20% from the same period of last year.
The country, one of the world’s two largest finished lubricant markets, received shipments totaling 403,529 metric tons of base oil during the first three months of the year, according to China’s General Administration on Customs, down from 505,901 tons during the first quartile of 2024.
China has for years been one of the world’s largest importers of base oils, but imported quantities have been declining for a decade due to a surge in construction of domestic base oil production capacity. Imports have fallen for eight of the past nine years and amounted to 1.5 million tons last year, down from a peak of 2.6 million tons in 2016.
This year imports were down sharply in January and March and were barely higher in February, year to year.
South Korea and Singapore were again the two largest sources of China base oil imports during the first quarter, supplying 123,245 tons and 100,588 tons, respectively. Qatar and Taiwan ranked third and fourth, with 66,171 tons and 58,703 tons. Thailand, with 21,554 tons, was the only other country to account for more than 10,000 tons during the quarter.
The quantities from South Korea and Singapore were down 34% and 19%, respectively, from the first three months of 2024, while those from Qatar, Taiwan and Thailand represented increases of 14%, 10% and 50%.