Demand for PET recyclate remained subdued in Germany in November. Recyclers now expect that the weak market will not recover before the end of the second quarter of 2024. According to EUWID sources, there are still no signs that major delivery contracts are being signed in advance of the 2025 implementation of the EU-wide target requiring single-use PET beverage bottles to contain at least 25 per cent recycled material. December will be a difficult month because converters will not want to start off the new year with high inventory levels, several players say. Many recyclers and converters will halt operations in the second full week of 15 December and only plan to resume production on 8 January.
Even after the idling of production facilities in Europe, prices for primary PET have not recovered yet; rather, they have recently fallen again slightly. There continue to be inexpensive imports from Asia. On 31 October, the EU announced preliminary anti-dumping tariffs on virgin PET imports from China of between 6.6 and 24.2 per cent. Market participants believe these tariffs are too low. From January until the end of September, almost 1.0 million tonnes of PET were exported into the EU this year. This represents an increase of roughly 10 per cent compared to the same period of 2022....
