OREANDA-NEWS. August 06, 2013. China imported 275,337 mt of methanol in June, 40% less than it did in May, data released by the General Administration of Customs showed. The fall can be explained by the high domestic methanol production in the country.

Over the same period, China's methanol exports surged to around eight times the volume exported in May to 175,902 mt, the data showed. Methanol prices outside China are strong enough for traders to eye arbitrage opportunities.

"Some traders are buying CFR China cargo, then re-exporting it," said a source at a major Chinese trader, adding that domestic cargoes were dominating the local market.

China's largest supplier of methanol in June was Iran, which delivered 25% more cargoes compared with May at 137,452 mt. Apart from Iran, the only other region that delivered more volumes in June was Bahrain, which saw supplies to China increase 55% month on month to 21,137 mt.

New Zealand, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia all delivered less volumes compared with May. There were no imports from Malaysia, Qatar, UAE, and Brunei in June.

Meanwhile, China exported the most volumes to South Korea in June, from none in May, at 89,642 mt. It did not ship any cargoes to India, the Philippines or Thailand in May, but exported between 3,000 mt and 14,776 mt in June.

The second largest buyer of Chinese methanol in June was the US with 32,916 mt, over seven times the volume in May.