TIANJIN - A total of 80,000 metric tons of low-sulphur diesel are scheduled to be shipped to the Netherlands and Belgium in April, Sinopec's Tianjin subsidiary said.

The diesel will be loaded onto two tankers departing Tianjin port next month, the company said.

China's diesel is mainly shipped to southeastern Asian countries, but in recent years, an increasing number of refineries have exported to Europe, said Jia Binghao, deputy director of operations in the company.

From November last year, China halted sales of diesel with sulphur content above 10 parts per millions (ppm) to address air pollution.

Chinese refineries have increased production of high-grade diesel to meet the new standards. Exports of diesel are also of higher-grade.

"On the one hand, domestic consumption has dropped and on the other, diesel with better quality is favored by foreign buyers," said Jia.

In June last year, 40,000 tonnes of low-sulphur diesel was shipped from Tianjin to Le Havre in France, Sinopec's first diesel export to Europe.

In October, 80,000 tonnes of low-sulphur diesel was loaded onto a very large crude carrier (VLCC) and taken to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the first diesel shipment using VLCC from China.

In 2017, the Tianjin subsidiary made 28 export shipments of diesel, totalling 1.15 million tonnes, the highest amount for many years.

"After entering European and American markets, we are now exploring the Australian market," said Liu Rong, vice manager of the Tianjin refinery.