In Sept. 2016, China’s export volume of TiO2 decreased slightly MoM while the import volume achieved a MoM increase. From the perspective of monthly export volume, the figure still stood at a high point. The gap between import volume and export volume narrowed from 56,203 tonnes in Aug. to 53,181 tonnes in Sept., and the difference between import price and export price decreased from USD971/t in Aug. to USD892/t in Sept, according to news from CCM Online Platform.

China's imports and exports of TiO2, Sept. 2015-Sept. 2016

Source: CCM Online Platform & China Customs

Imports

In Sept. 2016, China’s import volume of TiO2 increased by 9.57% to 15,350 tonnes; the import price fell by 1.49% MoM to USD2,650/t. In the “Gold Sept., Silver Oct.” period for TiO2 industry, the increased demand from downstream industries played a crucial role in supporting the MoM growth of imported volume. What’s more, it was also thanks to low levels of inventories for China’s coating enterprises in Sept., caused by the largely increased imported TiO2 price in Aug.

Exports

In Sept. 2016, China exported 68,531 tonnes of TiO2, a MoM decrease of 2.34%; the export price increased by 2.27% MoM to USD1,758/t. The monthly export volume was still relatively high, in spite of a slight MoM decrease. In Q3 2016, China’s total export volume of TiO2 grew by 49.07% YoY. Notably, the export business might be advanced by the continuous depreciation of the Yuan; correspondingly, better export business could boost up domestic TiO2 prices.

Chinese importers

In Sept. 2016, the top 20 Chinese TiO2 importers imported a total of 11,736 tonnes of TiO2, 76.46% of the national figure. Of these companies, Chemours Chemical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. ranked first with an import volume of 5,360 tonnes, up by 587.18% MoM. Kingdecor (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., Shanghai Xiangjie Import & Export Co., Ltd., Shanghai Sanchang Import & Export Co., Ltd. and Global International Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Taiwan ranked the top source of imports, exporting a volume of 3,564 tonnes of TiO2 to China, up by 135.69% MoM, and with an average price of USD2,597/t, a MoM decrease of 10.91%. The US, Australia, Mexico and Japan followed, ranking second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Foreign exporters

In Sept. 2016, the volume of TiO2 imported to China by the top 3 foreign exporters accounted for 73.56% of the total. The Chemours Company (Chemours) maintained its position as the largest single exporter to China, exporting a volume of 8,696 tonnes, up by 103.13% MoM, followed by Tronox, ISK, Huntsman and Cristal Global respectively.

In Sept., TiO2 export prices from Chemours, ISK, Cristal Global and Tronox have all increased by varying degrees over the last month. Of them, Chemours’ export price increased by 1.44% MoM to USD2,462/t. By the way, Huntsman’s TiO2 export price decreased by 5.42% MoM to USD2,303/t. 

Chinese exporters

In Sept. 2016, the top 5 Chinese TiO2 exporters exported a total of 40,673 tonnes of TiO2, 59.35% (58.16% in Aug. 2016) of the total TiO2 exported by China. With an export volume of over 10,000 tonnes (14,677 tonnes, down by 14.80% MoM), Sichuan Lomon Titanium Co., Ltd. continued to rank first among all Chinese TiO2 exporters. Notably, Henan Billions Chemicals Co., Ltd., Wuxi Haopu Titanium Co., Ltd. and Shandong Doguide Group Co., Ltd. recorded an about 20% MoM increase in their export volumes.

This article comes from Titanium China Monthly Report 1611, CCM

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Tag: TiO2