Data sources: Customs, Chempricehub Information
In November 2025, China's methanol imports unloaded from ocean-going vessels ultimately totaled 1.2960 million tons (counted upon berthing), a sharp decrease of 316,600 tons, or 19.63%, compared with the previous month's customs figure of 1.6126 million tons.
Data sources: Customs, Chempricehub Information
In November 2025, China's methanol exports are estimated at 21,500 tons, down approximately 5,500 tons, or 20.37%, from the previous month's customs figure of 27,000 tons.
Imports: November ocean-going vessel unloading continued to underperform expectations, mainly due to ongoing unloading restrictions, lighterage at the first port of call, and product quality issues on certain vessels.
Exports: Contract allocation by USD-based traders, unrelated to regional price spreads.
Monthly estimate of China's methanol imports by country of production based on ocean-going vessel data (November)
| Trading Partner | Volume (tons) | Share of Imports |
|---|---|---|
| Middle East | 693,000 | 53.47% |
| Venezuela | 126,000 | 9.72% |
| Chile | 100,240 | 7.73% |
| Malaysia | 59,800 | 4.61% |
| Oman | 59,000 | 4.55% |
| Trinidad | 56,430 | 4.35% |
| New Zealand | 40,840 | 3.15% |
| Egypt | 40,200 | 3.10% |
| South Korea (Trinidad) | 36,190 | 2.79% |
| Russia | 33,600 | 2.59% |
| Qatar | 30,724 | 2.37% |
| Saudi Arabia | 20,000 | 1.54% |
| Total | 1,296,024 | 100.00% |
Data source: Chempricehub Information
November methanol import cargo discharge totaled 1.2960 million tons (counted upon berthing), continuing to fall short of expectations, with a substantial volume again deferred to the following month. Of this, the Middle East main region discharged only 693,000 tons, while non-Iranian cargoes discharged 603,000 tons. According to the latest tracking, Middle East main region loadings in November totaled 1.1685 million tons, a figure that does not include volumes already loaded onto vessels in October but not yet shipped. Accordingly, the current December methanol import estimate remains elevated at 1.6 million tons, of which the Middle East main region is assessed at 1.2 million tons for discharge (the market consensus holds that unloading restrictions will continue to prevent a large portion of cargo from being landed within the month); non-Iranian cargoes are estimated to drop sharply to 422,700 tons. (Owing to multiple port-related factors, vessel arrival times may be subject to change, so actual port arrival volumes shall be based on final terminal discharge figures.)
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