China imported 126,535 mt of synthetic rubber in May, up about 7% from 118,186 mt in April, preliminary General Administration of Customs data released Sunday showed.
May imports were nearly 4% up from 122,063 mt in May 2011.
China imported 604,384 mt of synthetic rubber over January-May, down 3% from 625,325 mt a year earlier.
The data did not indicate the country of origin for the imports.
Despite the monthly increases, domestic synthetic rubber makers said tire producers' requirement was weak due to poor demand from export markets in the US and Europe.
A synthetic rubber producer said tire plants in China were operating at about 50-60% of capacity on average. So both tire and synthetic rubber producers have built up large inventories of their respective products.
To cope with surplus stocks, local synthetic rubber producers have either shut their plants or reduced their operating rates.
For instance, Shen Hua Chemical Industrial is running its 72,000 mt/year butadiene rubber plant at Nantong at about 60% of capacity in June from 70% previously. The company also operates a 200,000 mt/year styrene-butadiene-rubber plant which is running at about 80% of capacity.
