"Ciaran Tyler, lead naphtha research analyst at Brussels, Belgium-based commodity data analytics firm Kpler, says Taiwan's imports of Russian-origin naphtha have not slowed significantly, even though they have said they would not renew contracts to buy the product. Kpler data shows that naphtha volumes from Russia imported by Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC) the Taiwanese company almost entirely responsible for the surge in naphtha imports remained steady in November and December."
"'Formosa won't renew buying for new term contracts next year, but fulfilling contracts already set up is something they have not backed away from, seemingly,' he told DW. Tyler expects import volumes to decline rapidly early in 2026, as annual and quarterly contracts expire. Luke Wickenden, one of the co-authors of the CREA report, told DW that he believes Formosa is sincere in its commitment to pull back."
"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 had 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.'"
Taiwan became the world's biggest importer of Russian naphtha after a sharp surge in 2025. Formosa Petrochemical Corporation drove most of the increase and maintained steady Russian naphtha volumes in November and December despite public commitments to reduce purchases. Formosa has indicated it will not renew new-term contracts while continuing to fulfill existing ones. Import volumes are expected to fall rapidly in early 2026 as annual and quarterly contracts expire. Taiwanese imports in the first half of 2025 were roughly six times 2022 levels. Naphtha serves as a base feedstock for chemicals used in semiconductor and high-tech manufacturing.
Read at www.dw.com
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