Recently, titanium dioxide has once again become the scent of the fine chemical market, and the sound of price increases has started again.
The reporter learned that at the beginning of this month, some leading enterprises took the lead in raising the price of high-end products. Although there was still some time from the implementation date, the price adjustment behavior has already conveyed a signal to confirm the increase.
Relevant data show that in June this year, the price of rutile titanium dioxide once soared to 23,000 yuan / ton, but then the high level fell, as of October has fallen by 30%, the minimum ex-factory price is only 16,000 yuan / ton, the industry once fell into survival Dilemma. If the price increase of titanium dioxide in the first half of this year is more affected by the economic recovery and the factors that shut down some of the production capacity of some titanium dioxide enterprises in Europe and the United States, then the recent rise in the price of titanium dioxide in the market is initiated by the insured behavior of domestic leading enterprises. .
The reporter learned from a listed company involved in the titanium dioxide business that at the Chengdu industry conference in early November, several leading enterprises in Sichuan, Shandong and other places reached an insured price agreement for rutile titanium dioxide to increase the price by 500 yuan per ton. Local areas have formed a follow-up, while the downstream buying mentality has also shifted from wait-and-see to buying.
Sichuan Longyan Group is one of the main drivers of the insured agreement, with the domestic market share ranking first. When the reporter called the sales department of the company, the staff told reporters that the current price of rutile titanium dioxide has been adjusted from 17,000 yuan / ton to 18,000 yuan / ton, she also said that the price of Australian raw materials is rising, is also a consideration for the company's price increase . The reporter further learned that Shandong Dongjia, which has the second largest market share, has raised the price of rutile titanium dioxide twice in November from 16,000 yuan/ton to 17,000 yuan/ton.
The industry believes that some companies are mulling price increases, which is also related to the continuous widening of the previous domestic and international price spreads. The reporter learned that the current mainstream quotation of domestic rutile titanium dioxide is 16.5 million yuan to 17,500 yuan / ton, and the price of acute titanium products is 135,000 yuan to 14,500 yuan / ton, which is far from the international quotation.
Zhongyu Information analyst Yu Nana told reporters that since the global supply of titanium dioxide continues to be tight, this year, three major suppliers such as KRONOS, Tronox and DuPont have raised prices several times. Taking the highest precision rutile rutile titanium dioxide as an example, the mainstream price in Europe in November has reached US$3,850/ton (about RMB24,500/ton), and the Asia-Pacific region has reached US$3,800/ton (about RMB). 2.41 million yuan / ton). Despite the price increase, KRONOS CEO Steve Watson still publicly stated that titanium dioxide prices will increase by 15% to 20% in 2012 due to continued supply shortages, especially the cost of ore raw materials.
When the reporter asked for the industry conference and the price increase incident, the company’s securities office staff confirmed the price increase behavior of some enterprises in the near future. She also told reporters that the price of the products of 佰利聯(lián) has been relatively stable, and the prices of major products have not yet increased.
In fact, the fourth quarter is the low season of consumption in the titanium dioxide industry. There are still many uncertainties in the downstream, and there are not many manufacturers with the same price as the company. However, the international quotation of titanium dioxide continues to rise, which has benefited a number of listed companies involved in the export business. According to the semi-annual report, from January to June this year, the export business income of Ananda, Baoti Titanium and Yulilian increased by 4049%, 190% and 144% respectively, and the foreign trade income of the three companies. The growth rate is faster than domestic business, among which, the profit of export business of Yanlilian is equal to the income of domestic trade. It is foreseeable that the above-mentioned companies' foreign trade business will also benefit from rising international prices.
