(May 14, 2026) Recently, the prices of core raw materials such as soda ash and sodium silicate have fluctuated slightly, coupled with the normalization of environmental protection control, the cost pressure of the domestic silica industry continues to appear, and the living space of small and medium-sized production capacity has been further narrowed. In this context, the industry competition logic has shifted from simple price competition to product differentiation, deep cultivation of application scenarios, and refined service upgrades.

Affected by the phased fluctuations in the price of upstream raw materials, the production cost of domestic precipitation silica has risen significantly recently, the willingness of small and medium-sized manufacturers to ship at low prices has weakened, and the overall market quotation has remained strong. The price of silica for ordinary rubber reinforcement is maintained at a stable price, while the high dispersion silica suitable for green tires and low rolling resistance tires has strengthened price performance due to high technical barriers and stable downstream rigid demand, and the price difference with general-grade products continues to widen. On the other hand, low-end general-purpose silica is seriously affected by overcapacity and homogenization, profit margins have been continuously compressed, and the elimination process of low-end production capacity in the industry has accelerated.

The differentiation of demand in the downstream application market is becoming more and more obvious. the demand in the fields of traditional rubber, shoe materials, and ordinary plastic fillers tends to be saturated, and the increase is limited; Emerging fields such as new energy vehicle support, photovoltaic adhesives, agricultural silicones, high-end coatings, and electronic sealing materials have put forward higher requirements for the purity, particle size, oil absorption value, and dispersion of silica, and the gap in high-performance silica has gradually emerged. Through process upgrading, many companies have developed ultra-fine nanoscale, hydrophobic modification, and special functional silica, which accurately matches the customized needs of downstream new material enterprises and achieves product premiums.

Under the dual pressure of cost and market, the green transformation of the industry and the expansion of foreign trade are making two-way efforts. On the one hand, through energy-saving transformation, wastewater recycling, low-carbon production technology to reduce costs and increase efficiency, in line with the EU carbon border tax and international environmental protection standards, the export orders of low-carbon silica continue to increase; On the other hand, domestic enterprises have increased their efforts to develop overseas markets, relying on cost-effective and customized advantages to seize overseas markets such as Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, and hedging the pressure of domestic market involution.

Industry insiders said that the silica industry has entered a new stage of "stock competition and high-end increment", and the model of relying solely on production expansion and low price volume is unsustainable. In the future, focusing on subdividing high-end tracks, optimizing product structure, and strengthening overseas channel layout will become the key for enterprises to break through bottlenecks, and enterprises with technology research and development capabilities and stable high-end customer resources will continue to benefit from domestic substitution and emerging industry dividends.