The ethylene glycol price trend for Q2 2026 shows a real split between two of the world's biggest producing and consuming regions. China's ethylene glycol is priced at USD 1,042.88/MT on an FOB basis as of May 2026. The USA? USD 1,162.07/MT, CIF. That's a gap of USD 119.19 per ton  not small change once you're buying at scale.
 

Ethylene glycol doesn't get talked about much outside industry circles. But it's everywhere. Polyester fibers, PET bottles, antifreeze, industrial coolants all of it traces back to MEG. When the price moves, textile mills feel it first. Bottling plants aren't far behind.

Ethylene Glycol Prices: China vs USA

Straight from the data.

USD 119.19 apart. On a single ton, that barely registers. Multiply it by a container load, and suddenly it's a budget conversation.

Quick context before drawing conclusions from this table:

• China's number is FOB — free on board, at the port of origin. Freight and insurance aren't included.
• The USA's is CIF. Freight and insurance are already baked in, which explains a chunk of the gap right there.
• Both prices are single-month snapshots from May 2026. Not a rolling average. Treat them as a point in time, nothing more.

FOB and CIF aren't directly comparable in the strictest sense. Part of that USD 119.19 spread is just the incoterm structure showing up in the number. Still tells you something real about relative cost exposure, though.

What's Behind the Ethylene Glycol Price Trend

A few forces tend to push MEG prices around more than anything else.

Feedstock. Ethylene is the primary input, and ethylene tracks naphtha and natural gas closely. Squeeze the feedstock, and glycol producers pass the pain downstream almost immediately. Margins in this space are too thin to absorb much.

Production capacity. China's built out enormous MEG capacity over the past decade, much of it coal-based rather than naphtha-based. That gives Chinese producers a different cost structure than US plants running on cheaper domestic natural gas liquids.

Shipping and trade flow. Freight rates, container availability, port turnaround times — they all show up in the CIF number for US-bound cargo. A slowdown at any major port can shift pricing within days.

Currency swings. MEG trades in dollars. A weaker yuan makes Chinese-origin material look cheaper to dollar-based buyers, at least temporarily, until exchange rates settle back out.

Quick Questions Buyers Usually Ask

Is China's lower FOB price actually cheaper once landed? Not necessarily. Add freight, insurance, duties, and China's number can close the gap fast — sometimes it disappears entirely depending on the shipping lane.

Does the USA produce enough MEG domestically? US producers run substantial capacity, largely tied to shale gas feedstock. Still, import volumes remain significant, which is part of why the CIF price reflects global market pressure rather than just local production costs.

Why does coal-based production matter for China's pricing? Coal-to-MEG plants have different cost sensitivities than naphtha-based ones. Coal prices moving independently of oil prices can decouple Chinese MEG pricing from what's happening in Western markets.

What This Means for Buyers and Investors

Procurement teams sourcing from China get an attractive headline number. Landed cost tells a fuller story, though — duties, freight volatility, and lead times can erase that FOB advantage depending on the route and volume.

US-based buyers paying CIF rates are absorbing more of the supply chain cost upfront. That's not necessarily bad. Predictable landed pricing has its own value, especially for manufacturers who can't afford supply disruptions.

Investors watching the polyester and PET packaging space should treat MEG pricing as a leading indicator. Fiber and bottle-grade PET costs move with glycol prices, usually within a matter of weeks. Getting ahead of that shift matters for anyone modeling downstream margins.

Looking Ahead: Q2 2026 Outlook

Nobody can call this with certainty. What's reasonably clear: the China-USA gap likely persists through Q2 2026, driven by structural cost differences — coal versus gas feedstock, FOB versus CIF terms, and each region's export versus import posture.

Watch feedstock costs closely. Naphtha and natural gas price swings feed directly into MEG within weeks, not months. Buyers locking long-term contracts off May 2026 numbers alone are taking on real pricing risk if they skip that step.

Conclusion

The ethylene glycol price trend for Q2 2026 puts China at USD 1,042.88/MT FOB and the USA at USD 1,162.07/MT CIF, both as of May 2026. The gap reflects genuine structural differences — feedstock type, incoterm basis, and each region's role as exporter or importer. Anyone sourcing, investing, or advising in the polyester and packaging supply chain needs this number on their radar, not buried in a spreadsheet nobody checks.

FAQ Section

What is the current ethylene glycol price trend between China and the USA?
As of May 2026, China's ethylene glycol trades at USD 1,042.88/MT FOB, while the USA sits at USD 1,162.07/MT CIF. The USD 119.19 gap reflects differences in incoterm basis, feedstock type, and each region's position as exporter versus importer.

Why is US ethylene glycol pricing higher than China's?
The US figure is CIF, meaning freight and insurance are already included — China's FOB price isn't. Feedstock differences matter too. China leans on coal-based production in places, while US plants typically run on cheaper domestic natural gas liquids.

What drives ethylene glycol prices most?
Feedstock costs top the list — mainly ethylene, which tracks naphtha and natural gas. Production capacity, shipping rates, and currency movement all play a role too. MEG runs on thin margins, so upstream cost changes reach buyers fast.

How often does the ethylene glycol price trend shift?
Prices can move weekly depending on feedstock volatility and shipping conditions. The May 2026 figures are a solid reference point, but anyone negotiating supply a contract should pull current pricing rather than relying on month-old numbers.

What's the outlook for ethylene glycol prices in Q2 2026?
The China-USA gap should hold through Q2 2026, tied to structural differences in feedstock and trade terms. Naphtha and natural gas cost trends will largely decide whether that spread widens or narrows over the next few months.

Take a look at the chlorine numbers this quarter and one thing jumps out fast. China's FOB price sat at USD 52.37 per metric ton as of May 2026. The USA? USD 640.23 per metric ton. Same product, same month, wildly different price tags.
 

I've seen regional gaps in commodity chemicals before, but this one's big enough to make you double-check the decimal point. And if you're the one signing off on chlorine price purchases for a treatment plant, a manufacturing line, whatever that gap isn't just trivia. It's the kind of thing that decides which supplier gets the call this month.

Current Chlorine Prices by Region

Let's get the actual numbers out of the way first.

• China (FOB): USD 52.37/MT (May 2026)
• USA (FOB): USD 640.23/MT (May 2026)

Run the math and US chlorine costs about twelve times more than Chinese chlorine, FOB to FOB. Twelve times. For most commodities that spread would be unusual enough to question the data. For chlorine, though, there's actually a decent explanation.
 

A few things tend to drive this kind of split:

• China's chlor-alkali plants produce chlorine as a co-product alongside caustic soda, which keeps per-unit costs low at scale.
• Electricity is a huge input cost for chlorine production, and prices vary a lot by region.
• If US demand outpaces what domestic plants can comfortably supply, prices climb to match.
• FOB doesn't include freight — so the number you see isn't what lands at your door.

What's Actually Driving This Quarter's Numbers

Nothing here happened overnight. This fits a pattern that's been building across industrial chemicals generally: Asian FOB pricing staying low, Western pricing running hotter. Chlorine follows that trend closely, mostly because it sits underneath so much else water treatment, PVC, textiles, disinfectants, the list goes on.
 

Why is China's number so low right now? Could be oversupply. Could be producers chasing export volume harder than usual. Could be both, honestly — pricing data rarely comes with a tidy explanation attached. On the US side, tighter domestic supply and higher production costs are the more likely culprits behind that steeper number.

Who Feels This First

Water treatment operators, mostly. Chlorine isn't optional for disinfection, so when local prices jump, budgets get reworked whether anyone planned for it or not. PVC producers are right behind them, since chlorine goes straight into their feedstock. Bump that cost up and it eventually shows up further down the chain in pipe, siding, packaging, wherever PVC ends up.

Reading the Price Data Without Getting Fooled

Here's a mistake worth avoiding: comparing two FOB numbers across countries and assuming that's the real cost gap. It isn't, not even close. FOB is just the price at the point of loading. Freight, insurance, import duties none of that's baked in yet.

A more honest comparison looks like this:

1. Start with the FOB price from your source country.
2. Add real freight and insurance costs for your actual shipping route.
3. Factor in import duties or compliance costs specific to your destination.
4. Compare that landed total, not the raw FOB figure, against other options.

Skip that process and you'll chase a "cheap" price that stops being cheap the moment it clears customs.

Signals Worth Watching for the Rest of 2026

No one can predict chemical pricing with total precision anyone who claims otherwise is guessing. But a handful of signals usually move before the actual price does:

• Energy costs. Chlorine production is power-hungry, so regional energy shifts tend to show up in pricing within a quarter or two.
• Caustic soda demand. These two move together since they're co-products of the same process.
• Construction activity. More building activity means more PVC demand, which pulls chlorine demand along with it.
• Regulatory changes. New environmental rules for chlor-alkali producers can shift production costs almost overnight.

Buyers who keep an eye on these tend to time purchases better than those just reacting to whatever number shows up this month.

Final Thoughts on the Chlorine Price Trend

So where does that leave things? China's chlorine sits well under the USA's on an FOB basis, and honestly, there's no reason to assume that holds through December. Energy markets shift. A plant somewhere adjusts output because the math changed for them. Demand picks up in one region and cools in another. That's just how it goes with a commodity like this.
 

If you're buying chlorine, the lesson isn't complicated. Stop pricing off last quarter's sheet. Stop comparing FOB numbers side by side and calling it a day freight and duties change everything once they're added in. The buyers who actually save money are the ones who dig into why a price sits where it sits, not just what the number says.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What's happening with the chlorine price trend in Q2 2026?
China's FOB chlorine price was USD 52.37/MT as of May 2026, while the USA sat at USD 640.23/MT. The gap traces back to production scale, energy costs, and how stretched local supply is in each place.
 

2. Why is US chlorine priced so much higher than China's?
Mostly production economics. China gets chlorine as a co-product of caustic soda manufacturing, and energy tends to run cheaper there. US plants deal with tighter supply and steeper input costs, and that shows up in the FOB number.
 

3. Is FOB price the same as the total cost of chlorine?
No, and this trips people up constantly. FOB only covers the cost at the loading dock. Freight, insurance, and import duties come on top of that. Skip those and any cross-country comparison you make is basically meaningless.
 

4. Who gets hit hardest when chlorine prices spike?
Water treatment plants first, since chlorine disinfection isn't something they can skip. PVC manufacturers follow close behind — chlorine's a direct feedstock for them, so higher input costs eventually work their way into finished products.
 

5. What might move the chlorine price trend before year-end?
Watch energy prices, caustic soda demand, and how much construction activity picks up — more building means more PVC, which means more chlorine demand. New environmental rules on producers could shake things up too, sometimes fast.

That's not a typo, and it's not a small rounding gap either. China's potato is priced roughly 7.5 times higher than India's on an FOB basis. For anyone buying, exporting, or forecasting costs in this space, that spread deserves an actual explanation — not just a shrug.

Potato Prices: China vs India, Side by Side

Numbers first, context after.

Both are FOB. No freight, no insurance muddying the comparison. Just the price at the port of loading. Which makes the gap even harder to wave away.

A few quick notes before going further:

• FOB means the price covers goods loaded onto the vessel — buyer takes over cost and risk from there.
• These are May 2026 figures. Fast-moving agri commodities like potato don't sit still for long.
• Same incoterm on both sides removes one common excuse for price gaps — this one's structural, not a quirk of shipping terms.

What's Actually Behind This Price Gap

Potato pricing doesn't work like ethylene or crude oil. There's no single global benchmark everyone trades against. Prices depend heavily on variety, grade, and what the potato's actually meant for.
 

China's export potato pricing tends to reflect processing-grade and premium table varieties bound for specific markets, often with tighter quality specs attached. Higher input costs, more selective grading, and export logistics built around those standards all push the number up.
 

India's FOB rate, by comparison, reflects a very different cost base. Lower labor costs. Massive production volume. A domestic market structure built around scale rather than premium positioning. None of that makes Indian potato lower quality it just means the economics behind the price are completely different.
 

Currency plays a role too. Since FOB prices get quoted in dollars, any shift in the rupee or yuan against the dollar changes how competitive each country's exports look, even without a single change in local farm-gate prices.

Quick Q&A: Making Sense of the Numbers

So is China's potato just more expensive to buy, period?
Not exactly. FOB price reflects what's loaded at the port — quality grade, variety, and market destination all shape that number. It's not a straight signal that Chinese potatoes cost more to produce; it often points to different product segments entirely.

Could this gap close anytime soon?
Unlikely in the short term. The cost structures behind each price — labor, land, farming scale — don't shift in a quarter or two. Currency swings might narrow or widen the gap slightly, but the core difference stays put.

Does India's low FOB price mean weak demand?
No — often the opposite. Lower FOB pricing paired with high volume usually signals strong export competitiveness, not weak demand. India ships potato at scale precisely because that price point works in international markets.

What Buyers and Traders Should Take From This

Sourcing decisions built purely on price-per-ton without checking variety and grade are a common mistake here. A buyer comparing these two FOB numbers side by side without digging into specs could easily assume one market's overpriced and the other's a bargain. Neither read is accurate on its own.
 

For import-export businesses, this spread is actually a planning tool. Buyers targeting cost-sensitive markets have reason to look toward India's supply base. Buyers needing specific processing-grade potato tied to particular quality benchmarks may find China's pricing justified for their use case.
 

Traders watching currency movement should keep an eye on how rupee and yuan shifts interact with these FOB numbers over the next few months. A weakening currency on either side could shift competitiveness without any change in the underlying crop.

Potato Price Trend Outlook for Q2 2026

Where's this headed through the rest of Q2? Structural gaps like this one rarely disappear fast. Expect the China-India spread to persist, with movement driven more by currency and seasonal harvest timing than by any dramatic shift in production cost.

Watch harvest cycles closely. Potato is seasonal, and pricing can swing sharply around harvest windows in either country. Buyers locking in supply contracts should factor that timing in rather than treating May's numbers as fixed for the quarter.

Conclusion

The potato price trend for Q2 2026 makes one thing clear — China's FOB rate of USD 574.23/MT and India's USD 76.06/MT aren't measuring the same thing in practice, even though both use the same incoterm. Grade, variety, labor cost, and market positioning explain most of that gap. For buyers and traders working across these two markets, understanding what's behind the number matters just as much as the number itself.

FAQ Section

Why is the potato price so different between China and India?
Grade, variety, and market positioning drive most of it. China's export potato often targets processing or premium table use with tighter specs, while India's FOB price reflects massive production scale and lower labor costs. Same incoterm, very different cost structures behind the number.

What does FOB mean in potato pricing?
FOB, or Free on Board, means the quoted price covers the goods until they're loaded onto the shipping vessel. Everything after — freight, insurance, import duties — falls on the buyer. It's one of the cleanest ways to compare export pricing across countries.

Is India's low potato price a sign of poor quality?
Not necessarily. Lower FOB pricing usually reflects scale, labor cost, and market positioning rather than quality shortfalls. India's potato industry ships large volumes competitively priced for cost-sensitive buyers, which is a different strategy than China's premium-grade export focus.

What mistakes do buyers make when comparing potato prices across countries?
The biggest one: comparing raw FOB numbers without checking variety or grade first. A low price might reflect a completely different product segment. Smart buyers dig into specs — starch content, size grading, intended use — before assuming one market is cheaper outright.

What's the outlook for potato prices in Q2 2026?
Expect the China-India gap to hold through the quarter. Currency movement and seasonal harvest timing will likely drive short-term shifts more than any change in underlying production costs. Buyers should track harvest windows closely rather than treating current pricing as fixed.

Introduction

Q2 2026 brought a fresh aniline price trend worth paying attention to. China's sitting at USD 1,655.48 per metric ton, FOB, as of May 2026. India's running higher — USD 1,722.82 per metric ton, CIF. That's a gap of USD 67.34 a ton. Doesn't sound like much until you're moving real volume, and then it starts showing up on the invoice.

Aniline doesn't get much attention outside industry circles, but it should. It's the feedstock behind MDI, rubber chemicals, dyes, and a good chunk of the polyurethane supply chain. When aniline moves, foam manufacturers feel it. So do rubber processors and specialty chemical formulators, usually within a quarter or two.

Current Aniline Prices: China vs India

Here's what the data actually shows, no interpretation added yet.

That USD 67.34 gap isn't massive on a single ton. Multiply it across a large monthly order, though, and it starts showing up in quarterly cost reviews.

A few notes worth keeping in mind:

• China's number is FOB — it covers the cost to load the goods onto the vessel, nothing past that point.
• India's is CIF, which folds in freight and insurance all the way to the destination port.
• Both figures are May 2026 readings, not annual figures, so they can shift within a matter of weeks.

Comparing FOB to CIF directly is a bit like comparing wholesale to retail — the incoterm gap alone explains a chunk of that spread. Still, it's a fair starting point for anyone benchmarking regional costs.

What's Driving the Aniline Price Trend

Aniline pricing doesn't move for just one reason. It's usually a combination of forces working at the same time.

Benzene and feedstock costs. Aniline production runs on benzene and nitric acid, and benzene prices track crude oil fairly closely. When crude shifts, benzene follows, and aniline producers pass that cost along without much delay — margins in this space aren't thick enough to absorb it for long.

Downstream MDI demand. A large share of global aniline output feeds into MDI production for polyurethane foams and coatings. When construction or automotive demand for foam picks up, aniline demand tightens right along with it.

Freight costs. FOB and CIF pricing both carry a freight component baked into the delivered number. Congested shipping lanes or rising bunker fuel costs widen the China-India spread even when production costs stay flat.

Currency movements. Aniline trades globally in US dollars. A weaker rupee against the dollar raises India's effective landed cost, even if the dollar price hasn't actually moved.

What This Means for Buyers and Investors

If your work involves sourcing aniline, or advising clients who do, this price gap carries a few practical implications.

China's lower FOB number looks appealing at first glance, but FOB pricing doesn't include freight to your destination — that cost still needs to get added in before any real comparison happens. Buyers sourcing from China should factor in shipping time and freight volatility before assuming it's the cheaper option overall.

India's higher CIF price, meanwhile, reflects both import dependency and the added cost of landed logistics. For investors watching the specialty chemicals space, that dependency could point toward future capacity investment as Indian producers look to reduce reliance on imported aniline.

Advisers working with clients in rubber processing, dyes, or polyurethane foam should treat this data as an early cost signal. These price moves tend to filter down into MDI and rubber chemical costs within a few weeks, sometimes a couple months out. Keep an eye on this now, and forecasting downstream costs gets a lot less guesswork-heavy.

Where Prices Might Head in Q2 2026

So what's next? Honestly, nobody's got a clean read on it, and anyone claiming they do is probably guessing louder than they should.

Here's what looks fairly solid: that China-India gap probably sticks around for the rest of Q2. The two markets just aren't built the same way — different import needs, different downstream pull. Whether that gap widens or narrows depends heavily on benzene costs and how MDI demand trends over the next few months.

One thing worth flagging for buyers — locking in long-term contracts based on May 2026 pricing alone carries some risk. Chemical markets this tied to crude oil don't sit still for long, and a benzene price swing could reshape this picture fairly quickly.

Conclusion

The aniline price trend for Q2 2026 shows a real divide between China's FOB rate of USD 1,655.48/MT and India's CIF rate of USD 1,722.82/MT, both as of May 2026. That gap reflects genuine differences in incoterm basis, freight exposure, and import dependency — not just market noise. For procurement teams, investors, and advisers working in specialty chemicals, staying on top of this trend isn't a nice-to-have anymore. It's just part of doing the job right.

FAQ Section

What is the current aniline price trend in China and India?
China's at USD 1,655.48/MT FOB, India's at USD 1,722.82/MT CIF — both as of May 2026. Part of that gap comes down to the incoterm itself, part to freight, and part to India simply importing more of its aniline than China does.

Why is aniline more expensive in India than in China?
India's price is quoted CIF, meaning freight and insurance costs are already included — China's FOB figure isn't. India also imports a larger portion of its aniline supply, which pushes landed costs higher, along with longer shipping distances involved.

What factors affect aniline prices the most?
Benzene costs drive most of the movement, since aniline production depends heavily on it. Downstream MDI demand, freight rates, and currency shifts matter too. Because margins stay thin in this market, feedstock cost changes get passed through to buyers fairly fast.

How frequently do aniline prices change?
Aniline prices can shift weekly, sometimes faster, depending on benzene volatility and shipping conditions. The May 2026 figures serve as a useful reference point, but anyone finalizing a contract should always confirm current pricing rather than relying on older data.

What's the outlook for aniline prices in Q2 2026?
The China-India price gap is expected to persist through Q2 2026, driven mainly by differences in import dependency and downstream MDI demand. Benzene cost trends will likely determine whether that spread widens or narrows over the coming months.

Anyone buying SBR for tires, footwear, or general rubber production already knows this — prices don't sit still for long. Look at the Styrene Butadiene Rubber prices for Q2 2026 and, on the surface, it looks calm. Dig one layer deeper and you'll find feedstock costs, freight bills, and regional supply all tugging in slightly different directions at once. So what do the actual numbers say?

Where SBR Prices Stand as of May 2026

Here's the latest snapshot:

• China (EXW): USD 2,312.82 per MT
• USA (CIF): USD 2,432.19 per MT

About $120 separates the two figures. Small gap. Doesn't mean nothing, though. China's number is EXW — basically what you'd pay at the factory door, no freight or insurance tacked on yet. The US figure is CIF, so shipping and insurance are already folded into that price. Line them up side by side without accounting for that, and you'll walk away with a skewed read. Even so, one thing's clear: landing SBR in the US costs more once logistics get added to the bill.

Why the Price Gap Actually Matters to Buyers

This isn't just a number you glance at and move on. It shapes real sourcing decisions, quarter after quarter.

Take the EXW route out of China, and you're now responsible for your own freight and insurance. Good relationships with carriers, or enough volume to negotiate better rates? That can work in your favor. Go with CIF pricing out of the US instead, and you skip all that — you already know your landed cost before the shipment leaves the dock.

Which approach wins out? Depends who you ask. Plenty of buyers would rather chase the lower headline number and deal with logistics on their own terms. Others would happily pay more just to avoid the guesswork. Neither choice is wrong, really — it comes down to how your supply chain is built.

What's Actually Pushing SBR Prices This Quarter

A handful of forces tend to move SBR pricing, and this quarter isn't an exception.

Feedstock costs. Both styrene and butadiene trace back to crude oil and naphtha. When those upstream prices shift, producers pass the change along eventually — usually a few weeks later, not right away.

Tire demand. Tires remain SBR's single biggest use, by a wide margin. Slow down vehicle production, or speed up replacement tire sales, and rubber demand reacts fast.

China's supply position. China turns out a massive share of the world's SBR. That's a big reason its EXW pricing usually runs below what buyers see once material lands elsewhere. Maintenance shutdowns or domestic oversupply there can shake up the market quicker than in steadier regions.

Currency and trade dynamics. The yuan-dollar exchange rate, plus ongoing tariffs, keeps shaping how competitive Chinese SBR looks next to other supply sources heading into the US.

What Buyers Can Do With This Information

Nobody can call commodity prices with certainty — not reliably, anyway. Still, a few habits hold up no matter which direction the market swings.

Keep an eye on crude oil and naphtha prices; they tend to lead SBR costs by a few weeks. Watch tire production numbers out of major manufacturers too — decent proxy for demand. And resist comparing EXW to CIF at face value. Work out your own freight costs first, rather than assuming some flat markup gets you to the real landed number.

Signing a multi-quarter contract? Leave room to adjust. SBR pricing has moved meaningfully within a single quarter before — this isn't a market that only shifts year over year.

Buyers who check this regularly tend to make sharper calls than those reacting to one month's number in isolation. May 2026's figures are useful on their own, sure, but they mean a lot more once set against a few prior months.

Final Word on the SBR Market

Through Q2 2026, the Styrene Butadiene Rubber price trend points to a market holding fairly steady — though still sensitive to feedstock swings and shifting tire demand. China's EXW price of USD 2,312.82/MT and the USA's CIF price of USD 2,432.19/MT both reflect that steadiness. The real advantage for buyers isn't in chasing whichever number looks lower. It's in knowing exactly what sits behind each quote.

FAQs

What is Styrene Butadiene Rubber used for, exactly?
Tires, mostly — that's the big one. But footwear soles, conveyor belts, and plenty of other industrial rubber goods use it too. It holds up well under repeated wear and tear, which explains why manufacturers often reach for it instead of natural rubber when durability and cost both matter.

Why does SBR cost more in the USA than in China?
Comes down to Incoterms, mainly. China's quote is EXW — freight and insurance aren't in there. The US quote is CIF, so those costs already sit inside the number. Local production levels and regional demand play a role too, just a smaller one.

What makes SBR prices rise or fall in the first place?
Feedstock costs drive most of it — styrene and butadiene move pretty closely with crude oil. Throw in shifts in tire demand, how much China happens to be producing at a given time, and currency movement between trading partners, and you've got your short-term volatility.

EXW or CIF — which one should I actually buy under?
Depends entirely on your setup. EXW often looks cheaper at first glance, but then you're handling freight and insurance yourself. CIF costs a touch more upfront, though it gives you a fixed landed price — better suited to buyers without existing shipping arrangements already in place.

Any sense of where SBR prices go after Q2 2026?
Probably still tracks crude oil, naphtha, and global tire demand pretty closely. Some ups and downs feel likely, not a flat line. Checking prices month to month, rather than leaning on a single quarter's snapshot, gives a far clearer picture of where things are headed.