On October 27, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) convened major domestic producers of Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and PET bottle-grade chips for a special discussion on the issue of “intra-industry overcapacity and cut-throat competition”. These two types of products have witnessed uncontrolled capacity expansion in recent years: PTA capacity has surged from 46 million tons in 2019 to 92 million tons, while PET capacity has doubled to 22 million tons over three years, far outpacing the growth rate of market demand.
Currently, the PTA industry incurs an average loss of 21 yuan per ton, with losses of outdated equipment exceeding 500 yuan per ton. Moreover, U.S. tariff policies have further squeezed the export profits of downstream textile products.
The meeting required enterprises to submit data on production capacity, output, demand and profitability, and to discuss paths for capacity consolidation. Six major domestic leading enterprises, which account for 75% of the national market share, were the focus of the convening. Notably, despite the overall losses in the industry, advanced production capacity still maintains competitiveness—PTA units adopting new technologies have a 20% reduction in energy consumption and a 15% cut in carbon emissions compared with traditional processes.
Analysts point out that this policy intervention may accelerate the phase-out of backward production capacity and promote the industry’s transformation towards high-end sectors. For instance, high-value-added products such as electronic-grade PET films and bio-based polyester materials will become key priorities for future development.
Post time: Oct-30-2025