YUJIANG INFO
2025 China Titanium Dioxide Market Summary
In 2025, the Chinese titanium dioxide (TiO₂) market overall showed a trend of supply-demand imbalance, falling prices, and shrinking profits. The key points are summarized as follows:
1. Price Trend
Overall decline: The TiO₂ market prices continued to fall throughout 2025. The annual average price was CNY 13,677/ton, down CNY 1,819/ton from 2024, a decline of 12%. The price peak occurred in March with a monthly average of CNY 14,750/ton, while the lowest point was in August with a monthly average of CNY 12,758/ton.
Limited impact of price adjustments: In the first half of the year, three planned price increases totaling CNY 1,100/ton were implemented, but the actual realized increase was only CNY 600–700/ton. In the second half, three planned increases of CNY 1,500/ton also failed to fully materialize, reflecting weak market demand and the difficulty for enterprises to effectively pass on price adjustments.
2. Supply and Demand Situation
Supply side: Production capacity increased by 5% compared to 2024, but due to shrinking demand, industry output fell by 1.0% year-on-year, marking the first decline in over 20 years. The effective capacity utilization rate of the entire industry was 82.8%, with a comprehensive capacity utilization rate of 77.3%, highlighting the problem of overcapacity.
Demand side: Both domestic and overseas market demand contracted, and downstream procurement willingness remained low. The ongoing downturn in the domestic real estate market suppressed TiO₂ demand. On the export side, due to anti-dumping policies, total exports declined 4.46% year-on-year, marking the first decrease since 2016.
3. Costs and Profits
Rising costs: The price of raw material sulfuric acid increased from CNY 465/ton in 2024 to CNY 688/ton in 2025, up 83%. Although titanium ore prices fell by 17%, industry production costs still increased by nearly CNY 400/ton based on comprehensive calculations.
Profit losses: The combination of falling prices and rising costs squeezed profits, and the industry as a whole shifted from profit to loss, with an estimated loss margin of around 6%.
4. Business Operations
Frequent production cuts and suspensions: Due to weak demand and rising costs, some enterprises experienced more unplanned production cuts and suspensions, with longer shutdown periods. In 2025, 9 existing manufacturers ceased production or closed, while 2 new enterprises started operations, slightly increasing industry concentration.
Changes in procurement patterns: Procurement from large downstream enterprises remained relatively stable, while small and medium downstream companies shifted to an “order-driven” procurement model, reducing inventory levels and lowering market activity.
5. Import and Export Situation
Exports: Total exports for the year were 1.8169 million tons, down 4.46% year-on-year, with sulfate-route TiO₂ exports down 6.77% and chloride-route TiO₂ exports up 5.95%. The export structure showed a pattern of “lower total volume but improved structure”, with growth in emerging markets.
Imports: Total imports were 74,500 tons, down 18.92% year-on-year, with a significant decline in chloride-route TiO₂ imports, reflecting increased domestic chloride-route production capacity that filled part of the high-end product gap.
Summary
Overall, in 2025, the Chinese TiO₂ industry faced multiple pressures including overcapacity, weak demand, and rising costs. Market supply-demand imbalance intensified, and enterprises experienced significant operational pressure. Looking ahead, the industry needs to optimize capacity structure, enhance product value-added, and expand into emerging markets to address these challenges.
