Given Taiwan's status as a major petrochemicals nation--it accounts for one-third of the total value of global production--demand for ethylene is naturally high, and there are large profits to be made. However CPC has never been able to keep up with demand by expanding production, so Taiwan is only 40 % ethylene self-sufficient, and must import large amounts.
而台灣號稱石化王國，石化工業的總產值約佔全國製造生產總值的三分之一，乙烯需求量大，利潤豐厚，奈何中油的產能始終無法提昇，自給率只有四成不到，必須大量進口。