South Korea will fully ban naphtha exports starting from the 27th, with the ban initially set for 5 months.

The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Resources announced that starting from midnight on the 27th local time, all naphtha exports will be fully banned to alleviate domestic supply shortages.

At midnight on the 27th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Resources published the “Regulations on Restricting Naphtha Exports and Stabilizing Supply and Demand” and implemented them immediately, with a temporary period of five months. The new regulations prohibit the export of all domestically produced naphtha in Korea, and existing signed orders are also suspended unless approved by the Minister of Industry. The department explained that previously, about 11% of Korea’s domestically produced naphtha was exported; after the new regulations take effect, this capacity will be fully redirected to meet domestic demand.

At the same time, the Korean government has launched strong market control measures: daily monitoring of companies’ data on naphtha production, import, usage, sales, and inventories. If a company’s weekly export volume decreases by more than 20% year-on-year, it will be considered stockpiling, and the government may issue orders to adjust sales and inventories.

Korea relies on imports for 45% of its naphtha, with 77% of imports coming from the Middle East. Due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, the country’s naphtha import supply chain is under significant pressure.

(Source: CCTV News)