So far, Typhoon Doksuri seems to have had little impact on China’s petrochemical industry. The vast majority of companies, such as Gulei Petrochemical and PetroChina Guangdong Petrochemical had reportedly prepared for the storm a fortnight ago and secured their facilities accordingly. Therefore, Plasteurope.com correspondents are reporting little serious damage or significant production interruptions directly attributable to the storm.  

A category four tropical storm, Doksuri is the strongest China has recorded so far this year. The southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Fujian were hit with strong winds of up to 240 km/h and heavy rainfall before the storm moved further north towards Beijing. In Fujian, Quanzhou-based Fujian Refining and Petrochemical shut down the two smaller of three polypropylene plants with a combined capacity of 270,000 t/y on 28 July. A date for the restart has not been disclosed. However, this seems to be an isolated case.  

Port closures include those in Fuzhou and Xiamen since 26 July, and others have restricted operations. Market observers are reporting extended delivery times in the range of five to 10 days for imports and exports at the ports, and in some cases for overland transports as well.