Braskem reports 8% drop in resin sales as Brazil’s PS and styrene imports surge

Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem said its domestic resin sales fell 8% year‑on‑year in the second quarter of 2026, with polyethylene volumes down 9% and polypropylene down 5%. PVC sales slipped 2%, and the company attributed the decline to higher imports of these polymers. Utilisation at Braskem’s Brazilian plants dropped to 70%, and export volumes of resin fell 23% over the year.

At the same time, Brazil’s imports of polystyrene (PS) rose about 30% and imports of styrene rose roughly 20% in the first half of 2026. The surge is linked to the shutdown of a 190,000 t/a PS plant owned by Unigel, leaving only a single smaller unit operating, and to a global oversupply driven by cheap Chinese production. Imports of PS reached 81,988 t, including 37,490 t of expandable PS, while styrene imports totaled 105,015 t during the period.