ULSAN — Plastics exports from Ulsan Port remain more than 90% concentrated in petrochemical basic materials, and primary products — the mainstay category — posted higher export revenue in the third quarter on rising unit prices even as shipment volumes fell. Reduced naphtha inflows amid geopolitical instability in the Middle East drove a sharp increase in imports of primary products, with shifts in the raw-material supply chain reshaping the trade structure.
According to the "Third-Quarter 2026 Ulsan Port Plastics Trade Trends" released by Ulsan Customs on the 14th, basic materials such as synthetic resins overwhelmingly outweighed processed goods in the port's plastics exports. Third-quarter exports of primary plastics products (HS 3901-3914) totaled $1.3573 billion, 15.7 times the $86.4 million recorded for semi-finished and finished products (HS 3916-3926). Primary products accounted for 94.0% of total plastics export value. The figures reflect the structure of Ulsan's petrochemical industry, which mass-produces basic chemicals and synthetic resins such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) from crude oil and naphtha for overseas markets.
Price gains drove the overall performance of primary plastics products. Third-quarter export volume fell 11.5% from a year earlier to 840,855 tons, while export value rose 5.7%. The average export price climbed 19.5%, from about $1,350 per ton in the third quarter of last year to about $1,614 this year. For the first three quarters combined, export volume fell 8.4% to 2,564,017 tons, but a 16.3% rise in average prices lifted export value 6.5% to $4.121 billion.
Semi-finished and finished plastics products, though far smaller in scale, moved in the opposite direction, with both volume and value surging. Third-quarter export volume rose 51.4% from a year earlier to 13,281 tons, and export value increased 56.2% to $86.4 million. Cumulative export value for the first three quarters rose 52.0% to $251.9 million.
Imports of primary plastics products also rose sharply. Third-quarter import volume increased 38.8% from a year earlier to 12,430 tons, and import value rose 35.5% to $29.4 million. Cumulative import volume for the first three quarters expanded 24.1% to 37,371 tons.
The decline in export volume and rise in import volume for primary products are tied to deteriorating raw-material supply conditions. Ulsan's petrochemical companies produce basic materials by refining imported crude oil or feeding naphtha brought in directly from overseas into naphtha cracking centers (NCC). Naphtha imports through Ulsan Port plunged about 40% this year amid geopolitical instability in the Middle East, which is seen as having affected local production and trade volumes. Global product prices, supply and demand conditions, and changes in facility utilization rates also played a combined role.
"Export value for primary plastics products increased on higher unit prices, but export volume fell while import volume rose amid changes in raw-material supply," an Ulsan Customs official said. "Because Ulsan Port's plastics exports are concentrated in basic materials, there is a continued need to monitor how global raw-material supply chains and product price trends affect regional exports."