At last, the long awaited Etileno XXI project in Mexico has started production. This project, the first of a wave that will hit the North American markets in the next 5 years, was the result of the hard work and vision from two of Latin America’s leading petrochemical companies, Braskem and Idesa.
The project is certain to change the dynamics of the Mexican polyethylene market. Last year, the country imported 2.2 billion dollars of polyethylene resins, the vast majority from the United States. Etileno XXI aims to replace a large portion of that imported material with domestically produced resins.
It is likely that, at least initially, some of the material will be exported, in order to minimize the impact this new material will have in the domestic Mexican market. This is a good year to start such a project, as the world has yet to move into over-supply mode, an issue that is expected to start impacting as soon as next year.
We will continue to monitor the evolution of the Mexican polymer market; follow us on Twitter for future updates on this project and on the situation in the Mexican polyethylene market.
