(April 21, 2026) Recently, the domestic silica (precipitated silica) industry has been driven by cost support, downstream demand recovery, and overseas orders, and the overall operation trend has improved, and the pace of high-end and green upgrading of the industry has continued to accelerate.
On the raw material side, the price of upstream raw materials such as sulfuric acid and soda ash fluctuated at a high level in the early stage, and the rise in chemical bulk raw materials has converged since mid-April, alleviating the pressure on production costs that continue to be under pressure in the industry. Previously, due to the tight supply of sulfur and the impact of equipment maintenance, the price of sulfuric acid once hit a new high in nearly 20 years, driving a number of domestic leading enterprises to raise the ex-factory price of silica products by 500 yuan / ton since the beginning of April, and the current mainstream spot price in the market is stable in the range of 6000-7000 yuan / ton.
At the demand level, the demand in the domestic traditional rubber and daily chemical fields has recovered steadily, the penetration rate of green tires has continued to increase, and the demand for high-dispersion silica has been stable. At the same time, the boundaries of product applications continue to expand, and the demand for emerging fields such as new energy battery coatings, food and medicine, and electronic materials is growing rapidly, promoting the transformation of the industry from general fillers to high value-added functional materials, and the optimization of product structure has achieved remarkable results.
The foreign trade market performed particularly well. With the resumption of work and production of the global downstream industrial chain, overseas orders from Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East continue to return, and the export of high-end silica of highly dispersed, food-grade, low-carbon and environmentally friendly high-end silica has increased significantly, with a year-on-year increase of more than 20%.
On the supply side, the integration of industry production capacity continues to deepen, and the elimination of low-end backward production capacity is accelerated in various places, while the implementation of new process projects is accelerated. The carbon dioxide acidification method and green new process silica projects in Shandong, East China and other places have been steadily promoted, and the industrial cluster development pattern has taken shape, forming differentiated competition by virtue of resources, environmental protection and location advantages, and promoting the intensive and high-quality development of the whole industry.
According to the analysis of industry insiders, the downstream start continued to rise in the second quarter and the overseas demand dividend continued, and the silica market will maintain a stable and rising pattern; In the future, the core of industry competition will focus on technological innovation, high-end product research and development and green and low-carbon production, and the domestic silica industry is expected to further consolidate its global supply advantage.
