"Trade data suggests that levels of Russian naphtha, a refined crude oil product, flowing into Taiwan remain steady despite Taipei saying it would reduce volumes. A report published in October by the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) revealed the Asian country had become the world's biggest importer of the fossil-fuel derivative from Russia. Ciaran Tyler, lead naphtha research analyst at Brussels, Belgium-based commodity data analytics firm Kpler, said Taiwan's imports of Russian-origin naphtha have not slowed significantly,"
"The CREA report, written in conjunction with Taiwan's Environmental Rights Foundation and the exiled Russian environmental group Ecodefense, had revealed that in the first six months of 2025, Taiwanese imports of Russian naphtha surged six times what they were in 2022. Naphtha is needed to make chemicals required for high-tech manufacturing, including semiconductor manufacturing. "It's essentially a base feedstock for producing all sorts of chemicals that fund its semiconductor industry," said Wickenden. "It's an incredibly important chemical.""
Kpler data show Taiwanese imports of Russian-origin naphtha have remained steady, with Formosa Petrochemical's shipments unchanged in November and December despite plans not to renew new-term contracts. Formosa continues to fulfill existing contracts while indicating it will not enter new long-term purchases. Import volumes are expected to decline rapidly in early 2026 as annual and quarterly contracts expire. CREA and partner groups identified Taiwan as the world's largest importer of Russian naphtha, with first-half 2025 imports six times those of 2022. Naphtha serves as a base feedstock for chemicals critical to semiconductor and high-tech manufacturing.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]