China's sulphuric acid market continues to weaken, index declines [SMM Sulphuric Acid Weekly Review]

[SMM Titanium Dioxide Spot Brief: Titanium Dioxide Market Weak but Stable, Awaiting Order Release Signals] SMM July 22 – The titanium dioxide market remained weak but stable today. On the supply side, divergence emerged: some enterprises cut production and conducted maintenance, while mainstream large producers maintained stable output. Demand was sluggish, with downstream mainly digesting inventories. The market held expectations of recovery, but in the short term it remained wait-and-see, awaiting order release.

[SMM Titanium Flash News] According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, China imported 350,200 mt of titanium concentrates in June 2026, down 34.69% MoM. Imports of titanium concentrates in H1 totaled 2.9288 million mt, up 13.56% YoY. Exports of titanium sponge in June were 910 mt, up 22.15% MoM, and cumulative exports in H1 reached 3,851 mt, up 6.21% YoY. Exports of titanium dioxide were 185,300 mt in June, up 21.28% MoM from May and up 40.43% YoY, while total exports in H1 2026 reached 1.0684 million mt, up 16.56% YoY.

[SMM Titanium Dioxide Spot Report: Titanium dioxide market remains in the doldrums, with cost support and weak demand in a tug-of-war] SMM, July 21: Currently, the titanium dioxide market remains in the doldrums. The actual order signing price in the Panxi region has fallen to around 14,000 yuan/mt, with deals negotiated on an individual basis. On the supply side, operating rates are diverging. High sulphuric acid costs provide support, but downstream sectors such as coatings and plastics are in their off-season, demand is sluggish, and purchasing remains largely wait-and-see. In the short term, July and August are unlikely to see significant improvement. A phased recovery is expected from mid-to-late August to September, but the rebound will be limited.

[SMM Titanium Flash News] On July 21st, according to industry media reports, Anada released its performance forecast for the first half of 2026, achieving a net profit of 41.5 million yuan to 61.5 million yuan, successfully turning a loss of 26.27 million yuan from the same period last year into a profit. The company simultaneously announced that it will launch an integrated project with an annual output of 150000 tons of rutile titanium dioxide and 300000 tons of battery grade iron phosphate in Tongling, Anhui, with a total investment of nearly 3.3 billion yuan. This project utilizes ferrous sulfate heptahydrate, a byproduct of titanium dioxide, as the core raw material for iron phosphate, achieving 100% self-sufficiency in raw materials and bridging the upstream and downstream loop between traditional chemical and new energy materials. With the gradual release of the synergistic effect of dual main businesses, the integrated model of titanium dioxide enterprises relying on by-product resources to enter the new energy track is expected to become the mainstream direction of industry transformation.

On July 17, Annada (002136.SZ) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tongling Huatai New Energy Materials Co., Ltd., plans to invest 3.298 billion yuan in the construction of the “New Energy Materials — 300,000 mt Battery-grade Iron Phosphate Integrated Project.” The project’s main construction content includes a 300,000 mt/year battery-grade iron phosphate production unit and a 150,000 mt/year rutile titanium dioxide production unit, along with supporting public works, auxiliary facilities, and environmental protection facilities. The planned total investment of the project is 3.298 billion yuan, funded through various sources such as self-owned funds and bank loans, with a construction period of 18 months.

[SMM Express] Titanium feedstock production in Africa continued to face mixed conditions during the first half of 2026, with operational challenges weighing on output at some mining operations despite steady downstream demand. At the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in Mozambique, lower ore grades and delays in commissioning upgraded mining equipment reduced heavy mineral concentrate and ilmenite production during the second quarter, although shipments remained strong through inventory drawdowns. Across the broader African market, increased exports of titanium concentrates from producers in Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Nigeria have continued to supply Chinese buyers, contributing to a well-supplied ilmenite market and limiting price gains. In contrast, Western markets have remained relatively tight as mine curtailments and operational disruptions constrained feedstock availability. Demand for titanium feedstocks has remained resilient, supported by stable titanium dioxide pigment production and robust consumption from the titanium metal industry. Looking ahead, improvements in mining operations, particularly in Mozambique, together with trends in Chinese supply and downstream demand, are expected to remain key factors influencing titanium feedstock prices and trade flows.

[Cost Squeeze and Overcapacity: 2026 Zinc Oxide H1 Review and Market Outlook] Overall H1 operating run showed a trend of “low-level pullback during Chinese New Year — phased recovery after the holiday — weakening again in the off-season”, with the industry average operating rate in H1 falling 0.11 percentage points YoY.

The essence of this supply crunch is a "three-layered squeeze": Layer 1: Physical cutoff – the Hormuz blockade severed Middle Eastern supply, halting nearly half of global seaborne trade. Layer 2: Policy lockdown – overlapping export bans from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey blocked alternative supply sources, further tightening global tradable volumes. Layer 3: Capacity and inventory collapse – war-damaged Middle Eastern production facilities are slow to restart.

SMM, July 1: On July 1, the spot price of titanium dioxide in China fell for a second consecutive day, with the spot market and the secondary market showing a clear divergence. After an earlier correction, the titanium dioxide concept sector rallied for two straight days. As of the market close that day, the titanium dioxide concept index rose 4.85%, with individual stocks performing strongly: Jinputai Titanium hit the daily limit up, while Guocheng Mining, Anning Co., Zhenhua Chemical, and Vanadium Titanium Co. all gained over 6%. The spot market weakness reflects subdued downstream procurement sentiment in China, but capital in the stock market is trading on the logic of forward-looking improvement repair: expectations of tightening supply in July due to production cuts and maintenance, the realization of overseas price hikes, low downstream inventory restocking expectations together provided support, while some market capital inflows helped lift the entire sector. Spot Market Spot market side, high-priced sulphuric acid raw materials provided rigid support for titanium dioxide prices, but downstream end-use demand continued to weaken, with thin trading sentiment in the market, and spot titanium dioxide offers fell for the second consecutive day. According to SMM data, on July 1, SMM quoted rutile titanium dioxide spot prices at 14,500–16,500 yuan/mt, with the average price reported at 15,500 yuan/mt, down 1.59% from the previous trading day. Compared with the average price of 13,500 yuan/mt on December 31, 2025, rutile titanium dioxide has risen by 2,000 yuan/mt this year, an increase of 14.81%. Fundamental dimensions show a divergent picture between supply and demand: Supply side: June titanium dioxide production edged down MoM. Export side: According to customs data, China exported 152,800 mt of titanium dioxide in May 2026, down 21.05% MoM, with cumulative growth up 12.55% YoY. Looking ahead, summer concentrated maintenance coupled with high production cost pressure are likely to lead to significant production cuts across the industry, tightening overall market supply. Demand side currently remains focused on destocking, and the wait-and-see sentiment downstream is unlikely to dissipate quickly amid a gradual spot price decline; however, raw material inventories in the coatings and plastics industries are low, with restocking expectations later on. On balance, the titanium dioxide market in July is highly likely to operate in a pattern of both weak supply and demand, with short-term prices expected to mainly move sideways. Recommended Reading: