(May 10, 2026) The General Administration of Customs released the latest import and export data today, showing that from January to April 2026, China's silica import and export trade showed a good trend of "export growth and import contraction", with export volume increasing by 16.3% year-on-year, export value increasing by 22.7% year-on-year, and the proportion of high-end silica exports increasing significantly, marking that the competitiveness of China's silica products in the global market continues to increase, and the global market pattern is gradually tilting towards China.
According to the data, from January to April, China's cumulative export volume of silica reached 823,000 tons, with an export value of 5.16 billion yuan, and the average export price increased by 5.5% compared with the same period last year, mainly due to the rapid growth of high-end silica exports. Among them, the export volume of high-end products such as highly dispersible silica and fumed silica reached 287,000 tons, accounting for 34.9% of the total export volume, an increase of 8.2 percentage points over the same period last year, mainly exported to the European Union, Southeast Asia, North America and other regions, and the quality of export products was widely recognized by overseas markets.
From the perspective of export destinations, Southeast Asia has become the largest market for China's silica exports, with a cumulative export volume of 301,000 tons from January to April, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%, accounting for 36.6% of the total export volume; The export volume of the EU reached 189,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 14.2%, thanks to the implementation of the EU green tire regulations, China's high-dispersion silica gradually replaced local products in Europe and the United States by virtue of its cost-effective advantages; North America's export volume reached 157,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 12.8%, and the market demand was mainly concentrated in high-end coatings, electronic seals and other fields.
In terms of imports, from January to April, China's cumulative imports of silica reached 98,000 tons, down 10.3% year-on-year, and the import value reached 720 million yuan, down 8.1% year-on-year. The main reason for the contraction of import volume is that domestic high-end silica production capacity continues to be released, gradually replacing imported products, especially fumed silica, domestic independent production capacity has been able to meet most market demand, import dependence has dropped from 18.7% in the same period last year to the current 11.2%, achieving an important breakthrough in import substitution of high-end products.
Industry trade experts analyzed that the core driving force for the growth of China's silica exports is on the one hand the continuous upgrading of domestic production technology, product quality in line with international standards, and outstanding cost-effective advantages; on the other hand, the continuous expansion of the global downstream application market, and the growth of demand in new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, high-end daily chemicals and other fields, provide a broad space for China's silica exports. At the same time, China's trade cooperation with countries along the "Belt and Road" has been deepened, and the export channels of silica have been further broadened.
For the follow-up market trend, experts predict that with the continuous release of domestic high-end silica production capacity and the further upgrading of technology, China's silica export volume will continue to maintain a steady growth trend, and the export product structure will further tilt towards high-end. At the same time, affected by the global economic recovery and green and low-carbon policies, the global silica market demand will continue to increase, and China's silica companies are expected to further increase their share in the global market by virtue of their technology and cost advantages, and promote the continuous optimization of the global silica market pattern.
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