Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE): Trading
Gulf and US exporters, Chinese and Indian buyers
What this tab covers How it is bought and sold: buyers and sellers, price benchmarks and who publishes them, exchanges, contract types, traders, how Indian buyers price it, recent price points, and good sources to follow.Who buys, and where
- Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar) for South Asia and Africa
- US Gulf for Latin America, Europe and Asia
- Singapore and Southeast Asia
- Korea and Japan (Japanese PE enters India duty-free, ChemOrbis 2024)
Who sells, and from where
- China (largest importer)
- India
- Turkey
- Vietnam and Southeast Asia
- Africa
- Europe (Italy, Belgium)
Price benchmarks
| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| LLDPE film CFR Far East Asia / CFR South Asia | S&P Global Platts | spot, daily/weekly |
| LDPE and LLDPE film CFR India | Polymerupdate, ChemOrbis, ICIS | spot, weekly |
| US PE contract (LLDPE butene, LDPE film) | ICIS, CDI, IHS/S&P | monthly contract, c/lb |
| NWE LDPE and LLDPE | ICIS, Platts, ChemOrbis | monthly contract and spot, euro/t |
Exchanges
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dalian Commodity Exchange | LLDPE futures and options (5 t) | most liquid polyolefin futures; used by Chinese traders and converters |
Contract types
- Monthly or weekly producer list prices
- Spot import deals CFR, letters of credit, 25 kg bags in containers
- Term contracts with formula links to monthly benchmarks
- Price protection and volume incentives from Indian producers
Traders and distributors
- Vinmar
- Mitsui
- Mitsubishi Corporation
- Marubeni
- Sumitomo Corporation
- Itochu
- Sinochem
How Indian buyers price it
- Reliance, IOCL, GAIL, HMEL and OPaL set ex-works list prices against CFR India import parity plus basic customs duty, revising every one to two weeks.
- Producers use price protection and incentives in volatile months: Reliance offered price protection on LLDPE and a Rs 2/kg incentive on all PE lifting up to 22 Apr 2026 (Polymerupdate).
- The BIS quality-control order on PE (Jan 2024) was rescinded in Nov 2025, reopening imports from non-certified suppliers (CareEdge 2025).
Recent price points
| Date | Price | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2024 | LLDPE film $915-955/t; LDPE film $1,090-1,130/t | CIF India, Middle East origin | ChemOrbis, 11 Dec 2024 |
| 6 Aug 2025 | $935/t | LLDPE film CFR South Asia | Platts via S&P Global, Jan 2026 |
| 3 Dec 2025 | $830/t | LLDPE film CFR South Asia | Platts via S&P Global, Jan 2026 |
| 30 Jan 2026 | $1,050/t | LDPE film CFR South Asia | Platts via S&P Global, Jan 2026 |
| 8 Apr 2026 | $1,680-1,750/t | LDPE film CFR India | Polymerupdate, Apr 2026 |
| 15 Apr 2026 | $1,470-1,550/t | LLDPE film CFR India | Polymerupdate, Apr 2026 |
Good sources to follow
ChemOrbis plastics newsfreemium research site · ChemOrbisWeekly Asian, Indian and Turkish polymer prices and sentiment
Polymerupdatefreemium research site · Polymerupdate (Mumbai)Daily CFR South Asia polymer assessments and Reliance/IOCL list price changes
Argus market opinion and analysis blogfree blog · Argus MediaPolyolefin capacity waves, operating rates and closures
Polimericafree newsletter · Polimerica (Italy)European plastics industry, Plastics Europe data and recycling projects
Packaging Insightsfree newsletter · CNS MediaPackaging regulation, EPR and recycled-content news including India