Write an essay on the Review of a microeconomics article

Review of a Microeconomics Article

The article by Li Min“Methanol Market in China in 2015,” is written with a microeconomic perspective. The article gives a detailed description of the demand and supply issues around methanol in China for the year 2015. Methanol is used on a large scale in the country because the plastic industry has also substantially expanded. The following essay will provide a summary of the contents of the article as relates to the supply and consumption of the product and also provide an evaluation of the ideas presented in the article.

Regarding supply of methanol, the pace of growth in thevolume of methanol reduced in the year as compared to 2014 growth capacity. The new volume available for supply to the country’s open market was 5.6 million t/a. Figures obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics indicate that the country’s methanol output stood at 40.1 million tons that represent a surge of at least eight percent compared to the preceding year. Therefore, despite the slow growth in capacity, the country still experienced an increase in the capacity. For the current year 2016, it is expected that even less new volumes of methanol will be added. The limited new capacity is only expected in the leading coal manufacturing zones of the country in Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi and additionally, the manufacturing expenses are expected to be relatively low for the current year.

For the demand aspect, the reported total consumption of methanol for the year 2015 was 45.48 million tons, representing a twelve percent increase from the 2014 consumption capacity. The demand analysis for methanol in China is givenin the different sectors depending on the methanol based product. Formaldehyde accounts for 23% of the consumption. It is majorly used in coatings, synthesis, and synthetic products as well as pesticides and rubber. The most demand for formaldehyde is from the Artificial Board Industry in the country. The growing textile and construction industries also significantly contribute.