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SBR, styrene-butadiene: international price

HS 400219 · Subheading of 4002 · Petrochemical

What a kilo of SBR costs leaving the exporting country and what it costs landing in 11 markets across the Americas, year by year and month by month, from official United Nations customs data.

The rubber of tyre tread and sports flooring. Solid forms only here; SBR latex is declared under a different subheading.

Mellkar SBR Index

HS 400219Base 100 = February 2024

115.4 — May 2026 · provisional

+9% against the previous month

The Mellkar SBR Index stands at 115.4 in May 2026, a rise of 9% against April 2026. It is built from imports of heading HS 400219 declared to UN Comtrade by 11 markets in the Americas and Spain, with each market’s price weighted by the kilos that actually came in. Base 100 = February 2024.

See the full series
MonthIndexChg.against the previous monthCells
May 2026provisional115.4 +9%5
Apr 2026106.0 +4%6
Mar 2026102.0 +3%8
Feb 202698.9 0%8
Jan 202698.7 -3%8
Dec 2025101.8 0%7
Nov 2025101.9 -1%7
Oct 2025102.9 -6%7
Sep 2025109.4 +1%7
Aug 2025108.7 0%7
Jul 2025108.9 +1%7
Jun 2025107.8 0%7
May 2025108.0 -1%7
Apr 2025109.4 +2%8
Mar 2025106.9 -1%8
Feb 2025107.9 -2%8
Jan 2025109.7 -1%8
Dec 2024110.4 -2%9
Nov 2024112.2 0%9
Oct 2024112.5 0%9
Sep 2024112.2 -1%9
Aug 2024113.6 +6%9
Jul 2024107.4 +1%9
Jun 2024106.1 0%9
May 2024106.4 +3%9
Apr 2024102.9 +2%9
Mar 2024100.7 +1%9
Feb 2024100.0—9

It measures what a kilo of this heading costs landed in the markets tracked. It is a Laspeyres anchored to the base: each month is compared with the base month using only the markets present in both, so the index does not move because the set of reporters changed. A single heading rests on fewer declarations than the whole basket, so it moves more; months marked provisional will be revised as Comtrade completes the period.

Mellkar Index — the Americas and Spain

Source
UN Comtrade — United Nations International Trade Statistics Database
Flow
Imports, CIF value
Unit
US dollars per kilo
Years
2021–2025
Markets
11, the Americas and SpainColombia, Brazil, Mexico, United States, Canada, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica, Spain
Updated
August 26, 2026

How these figures are calculated See every heading What this material is and how to specify it

Ships at
2.34FOB average 2024
Lands at
2.39CIF average 2024
Reference
2.72corridor CIF · June 2026

“Ships at” and “Lands at” are the same shipment declared from both ends: what the 16 tracked origins send to these markets and what the 11 markets declare receiving from them, in 2024. The “reference” is the most recent monthly figure, which is the one to use for a sense of today's cost. The corridor covers 91% of what these markets import under this heading.

Recent months · through July 2026

Same customs data, month by month instead of year by year. It arrives two or three months late rather than two years, so it is as close to today's price as this source allows. In exchange it is noisier: in a country that moves little volume, a single large shipment shifts the month's average. Read the trend across several months, not the jump from one.

Lands in
US dollars per kilo
CountryFeb 2026Mar 2026Apr 2026May 2026Jun 2026Jul 2026
United States2.182.182.322.552.75—
Brazil2.092.182.252.422.622.80
Canada2.222.112.322.692.78—
Spain2.622.832.692.97——
Mexico—2.532.612.71——
Chile2.232.212.382.472.96—
Argentina2.502.83————
Colombia1.981.961.76———
Ecuador1.761.44————
Ships from
US dollars per kilo
CountryFeb 2026Mar 2026Apr 2026May 2026Jun 2026Jul 2026
United States2.312.312.312.312.31—
Germany2.412.522.713.02——
Mexico1.962.032.282.65——
Poland1.821.942.052.59——
Italy1.992.032.482.56——
Indonesia2.513.092.873.893.79—
Japan2.952.783.053.643.66—
Brazil1.681.632.052.822.752.75
Netherlands2.102.572.542.97——
Spain2.582.522.573.03——
Thailand2.202.532.793.54——

Ships from

FOB price: what the seller charges, loaded at its own port, before freight and insurance. The volume is everything that country exported to the whole world, not just to the Americas. The same country can appear in both tables: the large ones manufacture and sell to the region while also buying abroad for their own industry.

CountryUSD/kg2025Chg.2024 → 2025Volume2025
United States2.30 -9%129,310 t
South Korea2.02 -2%109,303 t
Germany2.46 +8%53,657 t
France3.04 +4%49,760 t
Mexico2.00 -11%37,384 t
Poland1.94 -1%19,126 t
Singapore2.77 +1%16,527 t
China1.87 +8%14,304 t · 2024
Italy2.07 +8%12,076 t
Indonesia2.85 -7%10,362 t
Japan3.09 +7%9,536 t
Brazil2.04 -7%8,261 t
Netherlands2.76 +18%6,199 t
Spain2.65 +44%3,947 t
Thailand2.50 +5%3,579 t
Argentina1.45 -7%2,669 t · 2024

Lands in

CIF price: what the buyer pays, freight and insurance included, before duties. The volume is everything that market imported, wherever it came from. The same country can appear in both tables: these are two different flows, not the same material going round in a circle.

CountryUSD/kg2025Chg.2024 → 2025Volume2025
United States2.36 0%210,507 t
Brazil2.29 0%100,903 t
Canada2.30 -2%73,344 t
Spain2.88 +8%58,731 t
Mexico2.46 -4%46,081 t
Chile2.18 -9%9,901 t
Argentina3.05 +7%7,846 t
Peru1.81 0%6,427 t · 2024
Costa Rica2.29 +1%4,875 t · 2024
Colombia1.95 -19%3,681 t
Ecuador1.99 +1%1,663 t
Series 2021–2025
Lands in
US dollars per kilo
Country20212022202320242025
United States2.392.902.392.362.36
Brazil2.212.712.302.292.29
Canada2.152.612.252.342.30
Spain2.382.892.722.652.88
Mexico2.462.872.532.572.46
Chile2.392.932.272.392.18
Argentina2.663.122.882.843.05
Peru2.272.491.801.81—
Costa Rica2.362.812.272.29—
Colombia2.532.842.352.421.95
Ecuador1.782.28—1.971.99
Ships from
US dollars per kilo
Country20212022202320242025
United States2.442.902.512.532.30
South Korea2.012.371.932.062.02
Germany2.252.752.322.282.46
France2.472.722.872.923.04
Mexico2.372.752.142.242.00
Poland1.802.221.781.961.94
Singapore2.332.832.542.752.77
China1.491.881.731.87—
Italy1.862.492.101.922.07
Indonesia1.642.742.463.082.85
Japan2.513.092.822.903.09
Brazil2.242.462.332.202.04
Netherlands1.462.782.332.342.76
Spain2.222.872.471.842.65
Thailand2.152.292.172.382.50
Argentina1.772.221.561.45—
Where it comes from, in 2025

Everything the markets in the table above imported under this heading, broken down by country of origin. Each origin carries its own price: the gap between them is usually the grade of the material, not the freight.

OriginUSD/kgVolumeOf total
United States2.39111,986 t20%
South Korea2.2894,280 t16%
Mexico2.1571,032 t11%
France3.0649,752 t11%
Germany2.6156,946 t11%
Argentina1.6835,136 t4%
Indonesia3.3413,924 t4%
Singapore3.1014,555 t3%

What this heading covers

Heading 400219 is styrene-butadiene rubber in solid primary forms: the polymer as it leaves the petrochemical plant, in bales, crumb or powder. It is not the black granulate gym floors are made of. That is shredded tyre, it is declared under heading 4004, and it costs an order of magnitude less.

Confusing the two is the most expensive mistake made when requesting a quote, and it happens because in trade conversation both are simply called “SBR”. SBR latex, in aqueous emulsion, does not belong here either: it goes under 400211.

What it is made of, and why that drives the price

SBR is a copolymer of two petroleum-derived monomers. Styrene brings hardness and wear resistance — the same monomer as the plastic of a disposable cup — and butadiene brings elasticity. The ratio between them defines the grade, so “SBR” is a family, not a product.

Because both monomers are petrochemical, this price follows crude and the butadiene cycle, not a harvest. That is the underlying difference with natural rubber, which competes with it across most of its uses: when one rises on drought and the other on the barrel, they do not move together.

It was invented in Germany during the Second World War, when the blockade cut access to Southeast Asian plantations. Today it is the most produced synthetic rubber in the world.

What to check before requesting a quote

Three things move the price within this same heading: the grade, the form, and whether it comes oil-extended. An SBR 1502 and an SBR 1712 neither cost the same nor do the same job, and both are declared under 400219.

Ask for the grade by its IISRP designation, not as “SBR”. The 1500 series is cold polymerisation, not extended; the 1700 series comes oil-extended, which lowers the price per kilo and changes the properties. Comparing a price from one against the other is comparing two different materials.

Need the price of a specific grade?

These figures average an entire market. For one grade, one format and one volume, the gap against the average can be wide in either direction. Write to us and we will look at it with your specification in hand.

Request a quote