The Saudi ministry of trade and industry is in talks with China over allegations Saudi exporters are selling methanol at prices below the cost of production.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), the largest methanol exporter in the kingdom, said in a statement yesterday it sought an amicable resolution in view of strong relations with China. Last month, China launched anti-dumping investigations into methanol imported from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia and New Zealand. In response, a delegation of Saudi trade officials and businessmen is travelling to China this week to discuss the claims.

China is a big market for Saudi petrochemical companies, which export 840,000 tonnes of methanol to China a year out of their total production of 6.2m tonnes at an estimated value of $2bn (€1.4bn, ￡1.2bn) in 2008. Sabic, which is 70 per cent owned by the Saudi government, accounts for 83 per cent of the kingdom's total methanol production.