chemical · input
Purified terephthalic acid (PTA, C8H6O4) is the primary monomer for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin — the plastic in water bottles, soft drink bottles, food containers, polyester fiber (clothing, upholstery), and PET film. Produced from paraxylene (PX) via catalytic oxidation. Global PTA demand ~60-70 million MT/year; closely correlated with PET bottle and polyester fiber demand. Major producers: BP Chemicals (UK), Indorama Ventures (Thailand), Sinopec (China), Lotte Chemical (South Korea). PTA supply is tightly linked to paraxylene availability from crude oil aromatics (benzene, toluene, xylene) complexes at refineries.
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Source countries
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Companies
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Goods affected
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Claims on record
Where it comes from
Share of global supply, by country.
| Country | Share of supply |
|---|---|
| CNChina | 62% |
| THThailand | 10% |
| KRSouth Korea | 6% |
| GBUnited Kingdom | 5% |
| TWTaiwan | 5% |
Who makes it
6 companies produce purified terephthalic acid (pta) — pet plastic monomer.
World's largest PET resin producer; produces 1 in every 5 PET bottles globally; operates 20+ PET production plants and 20+ recycling facilities across 5 continents; investing $1.5B to reach 750,000 tonnes/year rPET recycling capacity; named #1 PET/PBT resin company globally in 2025 evaluation
China's largest private integrated petrochemical company; operates the Zhoushan-Zhejiang Petrochemical mega-complex on Zhoushan islands, one of the world's largest refinery and petrochemical complexes. Runs a fully integrated crude oil → naphtha → PX → PTA → PET chain. ~40 million tonne/year crude processing capacity. PTA production ~10 million MT/yr from this single complex. Shenzhen Stock Exchange listed.
Chinese state petrochemical company (SSE/HKEx: 600028 / 0386, HQ Beijing). China's largest refiner and the world's second-largest refiner by capacity. Sinopec produces hexane at multiple refineries including Yanshan (Beijing), Maoming (Guangdong), and Zhenhai (Zhejiang) as part of naphtha fractionation. China is now largely self-sufficient in hexane supply through Sinopec and PetroChina, having reduced import dependence via domestic refinery expansion. Sinopec supplies hexane to China's domestic soybean crushing industry (China is the world's largest soybean crusher, processing ~95 million tonnes/year) — an enormous captive hexane market. Sinopec's hexane capacity is embedded in China's strategic plan for food oil self-sufficiency.
Major integrated oil company; operates Whiting IN (435,000 bpd, largest US Midwest refinery); significant fuel-grade petcoke producer from coking units processing heavy Canadian oil sands crude.
South Korean petrochemical company; part of Lotte Group conglomerate (retail, food, chemicals). Major PTA and PET producer; one of South Korea's largest chemical companies. Produces PTA for PET bottles and polyester fiber. Also produces MEG (monoethylene glycol), polypropylene. Ulsan and Yeosu Korea primary PTA production sites. KRX-listed.
Taiwanese plastics and chemicals company (TSE: 1303, HQ Xinzhuang, New Taipei City; ~NT$200B revenue; subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Group); world's largest producer of bisphenol A (BPA) — the key raw material for BPA-based epoxy resins and polycarbonate. Nan Ya Plastics produces BPA at its Mailiao and Linkou facilities using acetone and phenol feedstocks, then converts some BPA into downstream epoxy resins for coatings. Formosa Plastics Group (Taiwan's largest industrial conglomerate, founded by Y.C. Wang — the legendary Taiwanese plastics entrepreneur who built a multibillion-dollar empire from PVC) is both the world's largest PVC producer and the world's largest BPA producer through Nan Ya Plastics. The same BPA that is the centerpiece of endocrine-disruption concerns (leaching from polycarbonate bottles, can linings) and the same BPA that goes into industrial epoxy protective coatings for marine and industrial use comes from Nan Ya Plastics' Taiwanese facilities. Wang's empire — which spans Formosa Plastics (PVC), Formosa Chemicals & Fibre (fiber and chemicals), Nan Ya Plastics (BPA, PCB substrates), and Formosa Petrochemical (refining) — is one of the most vertically integrated petrochemical conglomerates in Asia.
