Barium and strontium salt-an industry in urgent need of high-end development

Barium and strontium salts are the main products in the inorganic salt industry. The upstream raw materials of the barium salt industry chain are mainly barite and coal, and the downstream products mainly include barium carbonate, barium sulfate, barium chloride, and barium nitrate. The upstream raw materials of the strontium salt industry chain are mainly celestite and coal, and the downstream products are specifically strontium carbonate, strontium nitrate, strontium chloride, and strontium hydroxide.


China is the largest producer and exporter of barium carbonate, with a high degree of industry concentration, but fierce competition for homogeneity

Barium carbonate is mainly used in the production of ceramics and ceramic glazes, functional glass, magnetic materials, electronic components and other barium salt products.

The production capacity of barium carbonate in China used to be severely surplus, but in recent years, affected by environmental protection policies, some small-scale, low-tech, and non-compliant companies with environmental protection requirements have gradually withdrawn. The overcapacity of barium carbonate has eased, the market concentration has continued to increase, and the industry has started. Rate increase. In 2019, the total production capacity of barium carbonate products in my country is about 700,000 tons per year, and the overall operating rate of the industry is about 80%. At present, there are about 10 barium carbonate production companies in China, and the company with the largest production capacity is Red Star Development, reaching 290,000 tons per year.

In 2019, the total domestic consumption of barium carbonate was about 450,000 tons, of which the consumption of ceramics, magnetic materials and glass accounted for the largest proportion. However, the overall demand for these traditional applications has not changed much, growth is limited, and market competition is fierce. The future increase in consumption will be concentrated in high-precision, high-value-added barium carbonate products, and the market share will gradually increase. However, the consumption of electronic grade barium carbonate is not large, so the overall demand for barium carbonate is expected to grow slowly in the future.

my country is the world's largest exporter of barium carbonate, with an export volume of about 100,000 tons in 2019, mainly to Spain, France, Russia, Italy, Iran and other countries. At present, some emerging exporting countries of barium carbonate are conducting anti-dumping investigations against Chinese products, but they have little impact on my country's barium carbonate export volume and will remain at the level of 100,000 tons in the future.


Overcapacity in the barium sulfate industry puts greater pressure on corporate profits

Barium sulfate is mainly used in paints, coatings, plastics, rubber, glass, ceramics and other fields. In 2019, my country's total production capacity of barium sulfate products is about 900,000 tons per year, and the overall industry operating rate is about 60%. In terms of production distribution, domestic barium sulfate production companies are mainly concentrated in areas rich in barite, coal, and thenardite resources, such as Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou, etc. The CR5 is about 41%. Representative companies include Schwab Chemical, Shaanxi Fuhua, Nanfeng Chemical, Qinba Barium Salt, Red Star Development, etc. The overall overcapacity of my country's barium sulfate industry has been affected by the relationship between supply and demand in recent years, and the pressure on barium sulfate companies' profitability has continued to increase.

In 2019, the total domestic consumption of barium sulfate is about 440,000 tons, of which paint consumption is the largest, accounting for 60-70% of the total consumption of barium sulfate. However, the domestic barium sulfate has a relatively low variety structure and grade, and the consumer areas with higher quality requirements are still mainly imported barium sulfate, or replaced by medium and high-end products such as titanium dioxide, and the market demand is growing slowly.

my country is one of the world's largest exporters of barium sulfate. In recent years, the export volume has been relatively stable, maintaining at about 100,000 tons, mainly to India, Japan, Vietnam, Italy, Brazil and other countries.


The price competition of low-end strontium carbonate products is fierce, and the future will develop towards electronic and nano-level

Strontium carbonate is mainly used in the deep processing of magnetic materials, liquid crystal glass substrates, metal smelting, fireworks and other strontium salts. The upstream raw material is mainly celestite. China is the country with the largest reserves of strontium resources in the world. However, in recent years, the country has restricted the processing, trade, and mining of celestite. Insufficient ore supply and environmental pollution have forced some companies to suspend or restrict production. At present, the total production capacity of strontium carbonate products in my country is about 250,000 tons/year, and the output in 2019 is about 150,000 tons. The overall scale of the strontium carbonate industry is small. The supply of celestite and environmental protection are the key to competition among enterprises. From the perspective of production distribution, domestic strontium carbonate production enterprises are mainly concentrated in Hebei, Chongqing and other provinces and cities. Representative enterprises include Hebei Nissin, Chongqing Hongdie, Chongqing Qinglong, Nanjing Jinyan, etc.

In 2019, the total domestic consumption of strontium carbonate was about 170,000 tons, of which magnetic materials are the main application field of strontium carbonate. In the 1980s and 1990s, strontium carbonate was mainly used for color picture tube glass bulbs. However, since 2008, liquid crystals have begun to replace color glass bulbs in large quantities, and the consumption of strontium carbonate in the color glass bulb field has been declining and has been gradually eliminated. However, with the rapid development of the electronics industry, the demand for strontium carbonate for magnetic materials continues to increase. In recent years, driven by the liquid crystal substrate glass, the demand for electronic grade strontium carbonate is also increasing.

In order to protect strontium resources, my country has gradually restricted the export of primary products of strontium carbonate, while continuously increasing the import of strontium resources. In 2019, the import volume of strontium carbonate was about 20,000 tons, and the main import sources were Mexico and Germany.

At present, my country's strontium salt enterprises still mainly produce industrial grade strontium carbonate, and the price of products is greatly affected by changes in market supply and demand, and market competition is fierce. However, driven by the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure in the downstream application field, domestic strontium salt products are developing towards electronic grade, nanometer and functionalized fine, high value-added chemicals. In the future, manufacturers with strong independent innovation and R&D capabilities, advanced manufacturing technologies and processes, and capable of producing high-purity, high-value-added strontium salt products will have stronger market competitiveness, gain better market space and profitability.


Conclusion

On the whole, the domestic barium and strontium salt industry is relatively overcapacity, low-end product price competition is fierce, and companies with large production scales and ore resources such as barite and celestite have obvious competitive advantages. From the demand side, the demand growth of traditional downstream applications of barium and strontium salt is limited. In the future, the domestic demand and export of high-precision and high value-added electronic products will drive the demand growth of barium and strontium salt products.