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The import and export of titanium dioxide in China are showing a growth trend
On September 5th, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, China imported 9089.08 tons of titanium dioxide in July 2024, a year-on-year increase of 13.36% and a month on month increase of 20.42%, as learned from the Yan Titanium Cloud Business Platform and the Tuduoduo Industry Big Data Department. From January to July 2024, China imported approximately 56800 tons of titanium dioxide, an increase of 41.29% compared to 40200 tons in the same period of 2023; It is expected that China will import about 97400 tons of titanium dioxide in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 15.23%.
In July, China's titanium dioxide export data remained good, with an export volume of 159600 tons, a year-on-year increase of 17.50%. From January to July 2024, the cumulative export of titanium dioxide was 1.1322 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 16.47%. The economy is still in a recovery trend this year, and with the arrival of the "Golden September and Silver October", the demand for titanium dioxide is under pressure to recover; In addition to the impact of anti-dumping measures on titanium dioxide by the European Union and other countries, there will be certain restrictions on exports in the future, but China's export market is expected to remain mainly stable. Qi Yu, a titanium analyst at Tuduoduo Industrial Big Data Department, believes that due to the release of new production capacity in the second half of the year, supply expectations will continue to increase, and the export market will maintain a steady growth trend in the long run.
According to the total import volume of the past five years compiled by Yan Titanium Cloud, the import volume in 2020 was 168300 tons, an increase of 0.89% year-on-year. In 2021, it was 190000 tons, an increase of 12.89% year-on-year. In 2022, it was 123100 tons, a decrease of 35.21% year-on-year. In 2023, the import volume was 84500 tons, a decrease of 31.36% year-on-year. Yang Xun, an analyst in the titanium industry at Yan Titanium Cloud, introduced that according to the above situation, the total import volume of titanium dioxide before 2022 is almost always above 100000 tons, and sometimes around 200000 tons. However, from recent data, it can be seen that this data is sharply declining, especially reaching its lowest point of 84500 tons in 2023. In 2024, the import volume slightly increased, indicating a recovery growth.
Yang Xun's analysis pointed out that the reasons for the fluctuation of import data are twofold. Firstly, the general trend is that China's titanium dioxide will replace imported products on a large scale. Despite the existence of technical barriers, the gap in product quality is gradually narrowing, with increasing production capacity and output, better supporting services, and stronger international competitiveness; Secondly, the market is trending upwards, driven by the sentiment of buying up rather than buying down, and domestic agents are stocking up; Thirdly, the closure of the Guanyin factory in northwest Taiwan by Chemours has led to a sudden increase in demand for this portion of domestic users due to stocking up; Fourthly, in the post pandemic era, the import situation has not fully recovered. The low import volume in 2023 has made the data for 2024 slightly prominent, and the actual import volume is still not high.
At present, the mainstream prices for most sulfuric acid method pyrite and anatase titanium dioxide in China are 16500-17800 yuan/ton and 15000-16000 yuan/ton, respectively. The mainstream prices for domestic and imported chloride method pyrite titanium dioxide are 20500-23000 yuan/ton and 31000-35000 yuan/ton, respectively, based on their uses (all of which are cash ex warehouse prices including tax).
Mr.Kevin