In April, China's titanium dioxide market price increased by 23.6%

April 27 news

I. Price Trends

Taking the sulfuric acid method rutile titanium dioxide, which has a large sales volume in the Chinese market, as an example, according to data monitoring, the price of titanium dioxide in China rose in April. The average price of titanium dioxide on April 1st was 15,260 CNY per ton, and on April 27th, it was 17,180 CNY per ton, with a price increase of 23.6%.

II. Market Analysis

In April, the price of titanium dioxide in China increased. Starting from April 1st, CITIC Titanium and Yibin Tianyuan raised the prices of their chloride process titanium dioxide products in China by 1,000 to 1,500 CNY per ton. On April 15th, Lomon Group announced an increase in the price of titanium dioxide in China by 1,500 CNY per ton and an increase in the international price by 200 US dollars per ton. Other manufacturers followed suit, announcing price increases one after another.

The main reason for this price increase is still the high price of sulfuric acid at the raw material end. Although the raw material prices have recently fallen due to the impact of the international situation, the overall supply in the Chinese sulfur market remains tight, and the shortage of spot resources is unlikely to be effectively alleviated in the short term. The continued high price of sulfuric acid has become the main driver of the price increase for titanium dioxide.

So far, the prices for sulfuric acid process rutile titanium dioxide in China are mostly between 16,500 to 18,000 CNY per ton; anatase type is around 15,000 to 16,000 CNY per ton. Currently, the price increases in the titanium dioxide market are too frequent, and the validity period of quotations has been significantly shortened, with actual transaction prices being negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

According to customs data, in March 2026, China's import volume of titanium dioxide was 5,925.64 tons, down 28.44% year-on-year but up 68.43% month-on-month. Among them, the import volume of chloride-process titanium dioxide was 3,754.33 tons, while that of sulfuric acid-process titanium dioxide was 2,171.31 tons. From January to March, the cumulative import volume of titanium dioxide totaled approximately 15,600 tons, representing a year-on-year decline of 25.10%. Specifically, imports of chloride-process products amounted to 10,162.76 tons, down 15.01% year-on-year, whereas imports of sulfuric acid-process products reached 5,405.88 tons, down 38.77% year-on-year.

According to customs data, in March 2026, China's titanium dioxide export volume was approximately 201,500 tons, an increase of 8.92% year-over-year and 33.03% month-over-month. Among these, the export of sulfuric acid method titanium dioxide was about 150,600 tons, and the export of chloride method titanium dioxide was 51,000 tons. From January to March, the cumulative export of titanium dioxide was 536,800 tons, an increase of 7.15% year-over-year; among these, the sulfuric acid method exported 401,000 tons, a slight decrease of 0.60% year-over-year, and the chloride method exported about 135,800 tons, a significant increase of 39.24% year-over-year.

III. Future Market Forecast

Titanium dioxide analysts believe: In April, the titanium dioxide market prices in China have risen. Currently, both international and Chinese market demands are good, with low inventories in major factories and other plants, and business confidence is high. It is expected that the titanium dioxide market will maintain a firm and high-level operation in the short term.