Overview
- The government announced a hoarding ban on seven naphtha-based feedstocks with inventories capped at 80% of last year’s levels during the 30 days before an inspection.
- The covered inputs are ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, xylene, and other light oil fractions used to make plastics and other chemicals.
- Officials signaled they could widen the rule to downstream products and order emergency changes to production, shipping, or sales if supply risks persist.
- Rising naphtha prices tied to the Middle East conflict have raised costs and squeezed output at petrochemical plants, prompting concern about stockpiling.
- Prime Minister Kim Min-seok directed agencies to crack down on hoarding of these materials as well as medical syringes and needles under the emergency response system.