PP Trade Analysis
- Satit Vaewvichit
- Oct 4, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 4, 2025
Global PP Trade Analysis Summary
The global PP trade landscape during 2015 to 2024 demonstrated the Middle East’s dominance as the world’s principal net exporter, with Africa and later the Indian Subcontinent as the leading net importers. The decade also saw Northeast Asia transition from a strong net import to a net export position, while regions such as South America and Southeast Asia continued to register considerable net imports.
The global PP trade in 2024 was shaped by robust export activities from the Middle East and Northeast Asia, with Western Europe and Central & Eastern Europe maintaining significant intra- and inter-regional trade. Intra-regional flows were particularly strong within North America, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia, while inter-regional trade was dominated by the Middle East’s exports to Africa, Asia, and Europe, and Northeast Asia’s exports to Southeast Asia and other global regions.
Japan, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia functioned as the main origins for PP flows, while China occupied a central position as the primary transit hub in the network. Spain, Egypt, Thailand, and Malaysia also played intermediary roles, serving as both points of passage and nodes connecting origins to destinations. The final destinations included Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Bangladesh, Peru, Portugal, Turkey, and Mexico.
From 2015 to 2024, global PP price levels exhibited a pattern of fluctuation, with movements in both upward and downward directions across the period. The prices generally ranged between eight hundred ninety one and two thousand twenty one USD per metric ton. The highest observed price occurred in 2022, while the lowest was recorded in 2020. The overall movement showed that prices increased during some years, particularly in 2021 and 2022, before declining again in 2023, but partially rebounded in 2024.
At the global level, Sea represented the predominant mode for PP, Road ranked second, Railway followed, and Air played a very small role. Among regions with large PP trade volumes, the Middle East stood out and depended overwhelmingly on Sea. Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia were also among the larger regions and similarly relied on Sea. Western Europe and Africa were high‑volume regions where Sea was substantial, with Road leading in Western Europe. North America and Central & Eastern Europe were also large, characterized respectively by Railway‑led and Road‑led profiles. The Indian Subcontinent was another large region, led by Sea with contributions from Road and Railway.
The global weighted average PP transportation cost over 2020–2024 was 75 USD per metric ton. The average cost was based on weighted average CIF-FOB price differences, which reflects the costs of freight, insurance, port handling, and other ancillary fees associated with bilateral trades between exporting and importing countries. Some data were unavailable or excluded as outliers during data cleaning.
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