The soda ash futures price, the main raw material of precipitated silica, hit a record high in intraday trading this week. As of March 18: The main continuous futures contract for soda ash closed at 1996 yuan/ton, which broke the record high during the intraday session and has risen by about 24% since the beginning of this year. With the concentrated release of photovoltaic glass production capacity in the second half of 2021, the demand for soda ash will be greatly stimulated. On the supply side, in a carbon-neutral environment, soda ash is an industry that consumes high energy and emits pollutants to the environment, and there is a high probability that future production capacity access will be subject to certain restrictions. The price of soda ash is expected to remain high and fluctuate. Affected by the continuous increase in the cost of raw materials, major precipitated silica brand companies announced a global price increase starting March 23, with an increase of 800 yuan per ton in China and an increase of US$135 per ton in exports.