(On April 23, 2026), the domestic silica (silica) industry showed a development trend of "high price stability, strong cost support, tight supply of high-end goods, and accelerated green transformation". On the same day, the benchmark price of general-purpose silica for precipitation method was reported at 6066.67 yuan/ton, and the mainstream price for rubber special grade was 6300-7000 yuan/ton; the price of high-end products of the vapor phase method is strong, and the market supply continues to be tight.
1.The cost side continues to be high, and the price system stabilizes
The core driver of this round of price increases is the sharp rise in raw material costs: the price of sulfuric acid hit a new high in nearly 20 years, and the benchmark price reached 1742.50 yuan/ton in early April, an increase of more than 50% from the beginning of March; the prices of raw materials such as soda ash and coal are running at a high level, significantly pushing up the production costs of enterprises. Affected by this, enterprises in major domestic producing areas intensively issued price increase letters in early April, raising the entire range of products by 500 yuan/ton, and some enterprises increased by 800 yuan/ton. As of April 23, the price adjustment cycle has basically ended, the prices of all categories have stabilized at a high level, and the cost side support is sufficient.
2.High-end demand is strong, and export orders are growing
Demand from downstream tires, silicone rubber, coatings and other industries has steadily recovered, and the supply of highly dispersed, food-grade, green and low-carbon silica products is in short supply. Customs data shows that export orders for high-end products have increased by more than 20% year-on-year since April, with Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East being the main incremental markets. The order schedule of leading domestic enterprises has reached the end of the second quarter, and some high-end models have even appeared in a situation where "one goods are hard to find".
3. Green technology breakthroughs and patent achievements
Technological innovation focuses on low-carbon cycle and performance improvement: On April 21, the patent for "rice husk ash preparation of silica" applied for by Shaanxi Saikoris was announced (CN121894667A), which realizes the high-value utilization of agricultural solid waste through microwave-assisted high-pressure spray carbonization process and improves the reinforcement performance of rubber. This technology can reduce production costs by 15%-20%, which is in line with the trend of green and low-carbon development.
4.The upgrading of production capacity has been accelerated, and the industrial structure has been optimized
Large-scale project landing: The 200,000 tons/year carbon dioxide acidification silica project (phase I) in Weifang, Shandong Province is being promoted, with a total investment of 1.02 billion yuan and an investment of 360 million yuan in the first phase, which is expected to be put into operation in February 2027.
Elimination of backward production capacity: Jiangsu and other places have implemented new regulations to restrict non-gas-phase and non-carbon dioxide acid process devices, eliminate ordinary production capacity below 15,000 tons/year, and promote the improvement of industry concentration.
Technological transformation and upgrading: Sanming Fengrun Chemical and other enterprises have invested 43 million yuan to carry out "coal-to-gas" technical transformation, replace outdated equipment, and simultaneously build LNG gasification stations to achieve energy conservation and consumption reduction and environmental protection standards.
5. The industry norms are perfect and the quality standards are improved
Recently, the competent authorities and industry associations have refined the quality standards, clarified the technical requirements of core indicators such as purity, particle size, and dispersion of precipitation and gas-phase products, and strengthened market supervision, severely cracked down on unqualified products, and promoted the transformation of the industry to standardization and high quality.
Market outlook
In the short term, the high operating trend of raw material costs is difficult to change, and the price of silica may remain high and volatile; In the medium and long term, with the release of green production capacity, the clearance of backward production capacity and the expansion of high-end demand, the industry will enter a new stage of "structural optimization, technology-driven, and green development", and leading enterprises with technology, cost and environmental protection advantages are expected to continue to benefit.
