Market evolution: Other polyamides (CN 390890) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the EU's external trade in polyamides under customs code 390890 — a residual heading covering primary-form polyamides not classified as polyamide-6, -11, -12, -6,6, -6,9, -6,10 or -6,12. The period 2015–2025 saw substantial growth in both exports and imports, but the most significant development has been a structural transformation in the EU's position: from a modest net importer in 2015 to a strong net exporter by 2025. This shift reflects broader dynamics in European chemical manufacturing, changing global demand patterns, and geopolitical disruptions that reshaped sourcing strategies.

The Scope & Definitions section confirms that CN 390890 is a residual category within heading 3908 (Polyamides, in primary forms), mapping to Prodcom code 20.16.54.90. While it excludes the major commodity polyamides, this heading captures specialty and engineering-grade materials with significant industrial applications.

1. The EU's transformation from net importer to net exporter

1.1 Export growth outpaces import growth in value terms

Over the 2015–2025 period, both sides of the EU's trade ledger expanded considerably. However, exports grew at a faster pace in value, strengthening the trade surplus.

In nominal terms, exports grew by approximately €214 million and imports by approximately €155 million. The trade surplus widened from €147 million to €207 million, confirming the EU's structural advantage in this product category.

1.2 A dramatic shift in net import reliance

The most striking structural change appears in the net import reliance metric, which swung from +11.3% in 2015 to −21.3% in 2025 (a −289% change). In 2015, the EU was a net importer — absorbing more from the world than it shipped out. By 2025, the EU had become a substantial net exporter, with exports exceeding imports by over 21% of the combined trade volume.

This transition was not gradual: the indicator crossed zero around 2017–2018 and accelerated further into negative territory thereafter, suggesting a step-change in European production capacity or global demand.

1.3 Rising export orientation of EU production

Two indicators from the Autonomy & Vulnerability section confirm the outward reorientation of the EU industry:

Trade intensity — the share of production involved in international trade — nearly doubled. More remarkably, export propensity (exports as a share of production) tripled, rising from under 19% to nearly 58%. This means that a far larger share of EU-made "other polyamides" is now destined for global markets than a decade ago, consistent with the sector's increasing integration into global specialty chemical supply chains.

1.4 Price and volume divergences reveal underlying shifts

The aggregate growth masks important differences between price and volume dynamics on each side of the trade flow:

Export value growth (+42.7%) was driven primarily by rising unit prices (+32.5%) with moderate volume gains (+7.7%). By contrast, import value growth (+43.6%) was almost entirely volume-driven (+40.5%), with flat import prices (+2.3%). This asymmetry suggests that the EU has been exporting increasingly higher-value specialty grades while importing more standardized volumes — a pattern consistent with the EU's role as a producer of advanced engineering polymers.

2. Shifting trade partners and the rise of Asian demand

2.1 China emerges as the EU's top export destination

The geographic composition of EU trade in CN 390890 evolved significantly over the period. On the export side, China more than doubled its share, growing from €113.5 million in 2015 to €236.4 million in 2025 (+108.3%), overtaking the United States as the EU's largest export market by value.

The surge in Chinese demand reflects China's rapid expansion in electronics, automotive, and 3D printing industries — all major consumers of specialty polyamides. Meanwhile, exports to the United States remained essentially flat, and exports to Brazil actually contracted by 25.9%.

Emerging markets also gained ground: exports to Mexico (+147.7%), Türkiye (+109.2%), and Switzerland (+87.8%) all grew strongly, indicating broad-based demand expansion.

2.2 Switzerland dominates EU imports, but new sources gain ground

On the import side, Switzerland remained the dominant supplier throughout the period, growing from €227.9 million to €298.7 million (+31.1%). Switzerland's prominence is consistent with the presence of major specialty polymer producers (e.g., EMS-Chemie, Evonik operations) in the country.

Several notable shifts stand out:

• South Korea surged from just €1.2 million to €10.7 million (+810%), reflecting the rapid global ascent of Korean specialty chemical producers.
• Belarus collapsed from €5.2 million to near zero (−100%), almost certainly a consequence of EU sanctions imposed in response to geopolitical developments from 2022 onwards.
• The United States grew strongly (+75.3%), consolidating its position as the second-largest import source.
• Japan saw a modest decline (−13.1%), possibly reflecting shifting competitive dynamics in specialty polymers.

2.3 Germany anchors both sides of intra-EU trade flows

Among EU Member States, Germany dominates both imports from and exports to non-EU countries:

Germany's role as a processing hub is evident: it is the largest importer of raw polyamide inputs and the largest exporter of finished or compounded products. The Netherlands stands out as a major re-export platform with €163.6 million in exports against only €19.2 million in imports, reflecting Rotterdam's role as a trade gateway.

Several smaller EU economies exhibited dramatic growth:

• Poland increased exports from €1.6 million to €6.6 million (+314.8%)
• Belgium expanded exports from €27.4 million to €85.3 million (+211.0%)
• Italy more than doubled exports from €29.9 million to €64.5 million (+115.6%)

These figures suggest a geographic broadening of EU production capacity beyond the traditional core (Germany, France).

3. Price shocks, concentration shifts, and evolving vulnerability

3.1 The 2022 energy crisis triggered significant price spikes

The Volatility & Shocks analysis reveals several notable disruption events concentrated around 2022–2023:

The 2022 price shocks to Switzerland and South Korea — both significant export partners — likely reflect the impact of the European energy crisis on production costs for energy-intensive chemical manufacturing. Polyamide production relies heavily on petrochemical feedstocks and process energy, making it particularly exposed to the spike in natural gas prices that followed the disruption of Russian gas supplies to Europe.

The complete cessation of exports to Russia in 2023 (−100%) is clearly linked to EU sanctions regimes and the broader geopolitical rupture. While Russia was not a major destination (1.5% of export value), the abruptness of the decline constitutes a clear supply-side shock pattern.

3.2 Import concentration has declined while export markets have become slightly more concentrated

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) reveals divergent trends on the two sides of the trade flow:

On the import side, the decline in HHI (−10.2% by value) indicates a diversification of sourcing away from heavy reliance on Switzerland toward a broader set of suppliers, including the US, China, and South Korea. This diversification reduces vulnerability to supply disruptions from any single origin.

On the export side, the HHI for value increased by 21.8%, suggesting that the EU's export revenues have become somewhat more concentrated — driven by the rapid growth of the China corridor. However, the volume-based HHI declined slightly (−4.7%), indicating that the concentration is primarily a value phenomenon linked to higher-priced shipments to China rather than a true narrowing of destination markets.

3.3 EU production capacity has grown substantially, underpinning the export surge

According to the Production Volumes data, EU production of CN 390890 polyamides expanded significantly:

Production value nearly doubled (+83.5%) while physical output grew by a more modest 19.9%, indicating a substantial shift toward higher-value specialty grades. This production growth directly underpinned the export surge and the transition to net exporter status.

3.4 Specialisation is concentrated in a few EU economies

The specialisation analysis for 2025 reveals a highly uneven distribution of competitive advantage within the EU:

Belgium and Germany show the strongest revealed comparative advantage (RCA > 1 and positive RSCA), with Belgium's RCA of 2.99 being particularly notable. Germany accounts for the largest absolute share of production (40.1%), but Belgium punches well above its economic weight in this sector.

At the other end, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, and Croatia show very low specialisation (RSCA close to −1), indicating that their participation in this market is marginal and mostly as importers.

Conclusion

The EU trade in "other polyamides" (CN 390890) underwent a fundamental transformation between 2015 and 2025. The bloc evolved from a modest net importer (net import reliance of +11.3%) to a substantial net exporter (−21.3%), driven by a near-doubling of production value and a tripling of export propensity. This shift was powered by surging demand from China (+108% in export value), rising unit values reflecting a move toward higher-grade specialty products, and the expansion of production capacity across several EU Member States.

The period was not without disruptions: the 2022 energy crisis triggered significant price spikes in key export corridors, and the geopolitical rupture with Russia led to a complete cessation of trade. However, the EU demonstrated resilience through import-source diversification (HHI declining 10%) and sustained production growth.

Looking forward, the EU's strong and growing trade surplus, combined with high export propensity (57.8%), suggests that this sector is well-positioned as a European industrial strength. The key risks remain energy cost exposure, dependence on the China export corridor (which now accounts for a disproportionate share of export value), and the potential for further geopolitical disruptions. The concentration of specialisation in Germany and Belgium also implies that policy decisions or competitive shifts in those two economies could have outsized effects on EU-wide performance.