Paraxylene: Production
How China built most of the world's PX in years
How China built most of the world's PX in years What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.| Measure | Figure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World capacity | about 80 Mt/yr world (indicative); China close to 47 Mt/yr (2024) | Argus, May 2025 (China); world indicative | |
| World output | about 57 Mt (2024, indicative) | indicative | |
| Capacity utilisation | about 70-80% (indicative) | Chinese PX ran at about 78.6% and Asia overall about 66% on 7 October 2026 (Procurement Resource). South Korea ran in the low 80s% in 2024 (Argus). | Procurement Resource, Oct 2026; Argus, May 2025 |
| Concentration | China about 59%; top three countries about 78% (indicative) | Seven Chinese megacomplexes above 2 Mt/yr hold 18.4 Mt/yr (Argus). Company concentration is moderate: Rongsheng (ZPC), Hengli, Sinopec, Shenghong, Reliance and Korean refiners dominate. | Argus, May 2025 |
| New capacity | slowing; few new complexes before 2028 | Argus says PX expansion is slowing after the 2019-2024 wave. Rationalisation of 3.92 Mt/yr occurred in 2019-2025: South Korea 1.07, China 1.52, Japan 0.43 and US 0.90 Mt/yr (Argus). India's planned PTA plants (1.25 and 1.5 Mt/yr, 2026) will raise PX pull (Tiger Brokers, 2025). | Argus, May 2025; itiger, 2025 |
Top producing countries
China 59% · close to 47 Mt/yr (2024) South Korea 12% · plants of 1-2 Mt/yr; about 10 Mt/yr (indicative) India 7% · 3.13 Mt/yr capacity, 3.16 Mt output (2017, latest official series); higher since (indicative) Japan 4% · mostly units at or below 500 kt/yr United States 4% · 0.9 Mt/yr rationalised 2019-2025 Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Brunei 14% · not published individually Argus, May 2025; share against indicative 80 Mt; Argus 2025 (plant sizes); total indicative; DCPC via CEIC (2017); Argus, May 2025; share indicative; indicativeLargest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhejiang Petrochemical (Rongsheng) largest Chinese PX complex at Zhoushan; figure not given in source | China | not published | 2025 | Argus, May 2025 |
| Hengli Petrochemical Dalian refinery-to-polyester chain; figure not given in source | China | not published | 2025 | Argus, May 2025 |
| Fujian Gulei Petrochemical | China | 3.2 Mt/yr PX capacity | 2025 | Argus, May 2025 |
| Sinopec not published | China | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Jiangsu Shenghong (Lianyungang) PX figure not published in sources reached | China | not published | 2025 | Argus, Mar 2025 (2.4 Mt/yr PTA unit named) |
| Reliance Industries Jamnagar is among the largest PX sites in the world; figure not confirmed in sources reached | India | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| SK Innovation, S-Oil, Hanwha TotalEnergies, HD Hyundai Chemical Korea rationalised 1.07 Mt/yr in 2019-2025 | South Korea | not published | 2025 | Argus, May 2025 (plant sizes 1-2 Mt/yr) |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Industries (Jamnagar) majority of Indian capacity; exports and captive PTA | India | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Indian Oil (Panipat) feeds Panipat PTA; not published | India | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals (MRPL) export-oriented aromatics complex; not published in sources reached | India | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Bharat Petroleum (Kochi) not published | India | not published | 2025 | indicative |
India had 3.13 Mt/yr of PX capacity and produced 3.16 Mt in 2017 (DCPC via CEIC), led by Reliance. India is broadly self-sufficient in PX and exports surplus, but imports PTA (1.95 Mt in January-November 2025, S&P Global).
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | Lost 0.9 Mt/yr of capacity in 2019-2025 (Argus); imports Korean PX for PTA. |
| EU | Small PX base; PTA closures reduced demand. |
| India | Reliance-led self-sufficiency; PX exports compete with Korean and Japanese cargoes in China. |
| China | Close to 47 Mt/yr; imports fell as self-sufficiency rose but were still 9.61 Mt in 2025 (Mysteel). |
| Japan | Small, older units; 0.43 Mt/yr closed 2019-2025 (Argus). |
| Middle East | Exported 220,530 t to China in 2025, 2.3% of China's imports, via Hormuz (S&P Global). |