What is Ethylene Dichloride Market Analysis: Price Trend, Trade Data and PVC Chain Demand
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What's driving sentiment this week:
Latest published month (2026-07) — Sentiment: Neutral
The most recent published customs observation for HS 290315 is 2026-07 at USD 293.58/ton, -25.4% against the previous month and +30.0% against 2025-08.
Reported volume across the fixed 5-economy panel was 1,869,451 tonnes over the window, 155,788 tonnes a month on average, and the three-month trend is +38.6%. The heading-level series is volatile: the largest month-on-month move in the window was +32.6% between 2026-05 and 2026-06, when reported value moved -18.5% and reported tonnage moved -38.5%, so that move reflects the mix and size of shipments filed under this heading rather than a single quoted price.
Next 1–3 Months — Outlook
This page is refreshed from public customs statistics rather than paid price assessments, so the next revision will roll in each newly published month for HS 290315. Direction shown here is a reading of published customs unit values, not a forecast.
Key Market Impact
Customs unit values for this heading are the single most checkable price signal available without a subscription: they combine the product mix actually crossing borders, the average contract level behind those shipments and freight-relevant volume. Treat them as the trade-weighted baseline for the heading, and read the coverage note above before applying them to a single grade.
How About the Price?
Data source: UN Comtrade public trade statistics (https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true) | Last updated: 2026-11-06
Price Trajectory, latest 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07)
The monthly customs export unit value for HS 290315 moved from USD 225.82/ton in 2025-08 to USD 293.58/ton in 2026-07 (+30.0% across the window). The window high was USD 393.29/ton in 2026-06 and the low USD 205.38/ton in 2025-09. Three-month averages put the latest quarter +38.6% against the previous one, which is classified here as neutral. The heading-level series is volatile: the largest month-on-month move in the window was +32.6% between 2026-05 and 2026-06, when reported value moved -18.5% and reported tonnage moved -38.5%, so that move reflects the mix and size of shipments filed under this heading rather than a single quoted price.
The same panel reported USD 464.8 million of export value on 1,869,451 tonnes over the twelve months, an average of 155,788 tonnes a month. Values are customs returns for the stated HS heading, so they capture the traded mix of that heading rather than a single quoted grade.
The EU side of the same heading is one month fresher than the panel above: Eurostat Comext records EU27 imports of HS 290315 from outside the EU at USD 596.62/ton in 2026-08 (EUR 514.64/ton at the ECB monthly reference rate), -8.7% against 2026-07, on 5,513 tonnes; the twelve months to 2026-08 totalled 165,196 tonnes. On the 12 months the two datasets share (2025-08 to 2026-07), three-month blocks that far apart moved +50.3% on the export panel and +80.6% on the EU import side, so the two agree on direction. Import values are recorded on a CIF-type basis by a single bloc, so the level is not comparable with the export panel — the comparison above is directional.
2026-08 is deliberately not in the series: of the 5 economies that make up this page's fixed panel, 2 had filed both value and net weight for this heading when the page was rebuilt on 2026-11-06 (the heading drew 6 filers in total that month); neither 2026-09 nor 2026-10 drew a single filing for this heading. Splicing a partly-filed month onto a fixed panel would move the unit value through composition alone, so the window stays at 2026-07 until the whole panel for 2026-08 has reported.
HS 290315 carries ethylene dichloride (1,2-dichloroethane) only, so the series is product-level; because most EDC is piped straight into vinyl chloride units rather than sold, the traded volume is the merchant balance and not total EDC output.
Supply-side factors
- Fixed reporting panel of 5 economies: DEU (276), IDN (360), NLD (528), GBR (826), USA (842). The panel is held constant in every month of the window so month-to-month movement is not a composition effect.
- Monthly unit value range over the window: USD 205.38 to USD 393.29/ton.
- Latest month, 2026-07: USD 293.58/ton, -25.4% against the previous month, on 166,157 tonnes.
Demand-side factors
- Ethylene dichloride exists almost entirely as the intermediate between ethylene chlorination and vinyl chloride cracking, so merchant EDC volumes are set by how much VCM capacity is short of captive EDC rather than by end-use demand, and PVC operating rates transmit through the chain within weeks.
- Related market pages on this site: Ethylene (the chlorination feedstock), Chlorine (the co-feed in direct chlorination), Vinyl Chloride (the cracking outlet for EDC), Ethylene Oxide (the sister ethylene derivative on the same C2 chain).
Basis: these are customs unit values for the stated HS heading, not quoted spot, contract or assessed prices, and no paid price assessment is used or redistributed on this page. Every figure can be re-checked at the API links listed at the end of this page.
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Substitutes & Alternatives
| Substitute | Replacement Scenario / How It Substitutes |
|---|---|
| Propylene dichloride (1,2-Dichloropropane) | Can substitute EDC as a solvent in degreasing, cleaning, and extraction applications where a chlorinated solvent with similar solvency power is acceptable. Requires no major reformulation for solvent uses but is not a viable substitute in VCM/PVC production due to different chemistry. |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | Replaces EDC as a metal degreasing and industrial cleaning solvent. TCE offers higher solvency for oils and greases and lower flammability risk. It is a near drop-in substitute in vapor degreasing equipment, though regulatory pressure on TCE in many jurisdictions limits its use. |
| Perchloroethylene (PCE / Tetrachloroethylene) | Substitutes EDC in solvent cleaning and dry-cleaning applications. PCE is non-flammable and has higher chemical stability. It is used as a drop-in replacement in closed-loop degreasing systems, though it carries its own environmental and health regulatory concerns. |
| Methylene chloride (Dichloromethane, DCM) | Replaces EDC as a general-purpose solvent in paint stripping, adhesives, and pharmaceutical extraction. DCM has a lower boiling point (40°C) and higher volatility, so equipment and process conditions must be adjusted; it is not a drop-in but a functional substitute in many solvent applications. |
| N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) | Serves as a lower-toxicity alternative to EDC in specialty solvent applications such as polymer dissolution, coatings, and electronics cleaning. Requires reformulation due to very different physical properties (high boiling point, low volatility), but is preferred where halogenated solvent regulations are strict. |
| Bio-based or alternative VCM routes (e.g., acetylene-based VCM) | In regions with cheap acetylene (e.g., calcium carbide route in China), VCM can be produced directly from acetylene and HCl without EDC as an intermediate, effectively bypassing EDC entirely in the PVC supply chain. This is a process-level substitution rather than a product substitution, and it is practiced at significant scale in China. |
| Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) | Substitutes EDC as a polar solvent in pharmaceutical synthesis and specialty chemical reactions where a non-halogenated, high-boiling polar aprotic solvent is preferred. Requires process redesign due to very different boiling point and reactivity profile; not a drop-in replacement. |
Related PetroApex Market Pages
- Ethylene
- Vinyl Chloride
- Chlorine
- Ethylene Oxide — the sister ethylene derivative on the same C2 chain.
Regulatory Status
| Region | Regulation / Policy Name | Issuing Authority | Year (enacted or latest revision) | Key Requirement / Threshold | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | Final Risk Evaluation under TSCA | EPA | 2026 | EDC (1,2-dichloroethane) presents unreasonable risk to human health via workplace exposure (inhalation/dermal) under 15 of 20 conditions of use; no unreasonable risk identified for consumers, general population, or environment; not a carcinogen under TSCA | https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-evaluation-12-dichloroethane |
| US | Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) | OSHA | 1979 (unchanged) | 8-hour TWA: 50 ppm (200 mg/m³); STEL: 100 ppm (200 mg/m³); C: 200 ppm (200 mg/m³) | https://www.osha.gov/chemicaldata/54 |
| US | Safety Data Sheet Labeling and Hazard Communication | EPA/Agency | Current (GHS implementation) | GHS Carcinogenicity Category 2 (H351: Suspected of causing cancer); OSHA hazard communication classification | https://www.airgas.com/msds/001068.pdf |
| China | List of Hazardous Chemicals | MEE | Current (as listed in Schedule 1) | Ethylene Dichloride listed as hazardous chemical subject to Manufacture, Storage and Import Rules (equivalent to India's rules); import/storage/manufacturing controls apply | https://moef.gov.in/uploads/pdf-uploads/pdf_68400de7d331b2.34904030.pdf |
| India | Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules | Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) | 1989 (unchanged) | Ethylene Dichloride listed in Schedule 1; import/storage/manufacturing requires license and adherence to rules for hazardous chemicals | https://moef.gov.in/uploads/pdf-uploads/pdf_68400de7d331b2.34904030.pdf |
| Property | Typical Value / Range | Unit | Grade / Note |
|---|
Data Sources
Price and volume figures are derived from the directly verified public sources below. The customs unit values are USD/ton and are not subscription price assessments. Grade-level specifications are not restated here: confirm them with the supplier. Every monthly endpoint used for the series on this page is listed below, together with the EU cross-check, the exchange rate used to express it in dollars and the HS classification reference.
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202508&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202509&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202510&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202511&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202512&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202601&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202602&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202603&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202604&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202605&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202606&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=290315&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/comext/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/DS-045409?format=JSON&freq=M&reporter=EU27_2020&partner=EXT_EU27_2020&flow=1&indicators=VALUE_IN_EUROS&indicators=QUANTITY_IN_100KG&product=290315&sinceTimePeriod=2025-08
- https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/EXR/M.USD.EUR.SP00.A?format=csvdata&startPeriod=2025-08&endPeriod=2026-10
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/files/v1/app/reference/HS.json
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