(May 18, 2026) According to the latest statistics from the General Administration of Customs today, from January to April 2026, China's silica exports reached 876,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%, and the export value was 1.23 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 22.7%.
From the perspective of export regions, Southeast Asia and Europe are still the main export markets of silica in China, and the development of emerging markets has achieved remarkable results. From January to April, China exported 423,000 tons of silica to Southeast Asia, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%, accounting for 48.3% of the total export volume. Exports to Europe were 207,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.2%, despite trade barriers such as EU carbon tariffs, but domestic low-carbon silica successfully broke through market restrictions and increased its export share steadily by virtue of cost advantages and quality upgrades. In addition, China's exports to emerging silica export markets (such as South America and the Middle East) increased by 35.8% year-on-year, becoming a new driving force for export growth.
The export product structure continues to be optimized, and high-end products have become the core of export growth. According to the data, from January to April, China's export volume of high-end special silica reached 192,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 47.3%, accounting for 21.9% of the total export volume, of which the export value of high-end products such as fumed silica and modified silica accounted for 38.6%. Compared with traditional general-purpose silica, high-end products have higher added value, and the export unit price is 2-3 times higher than that of ordinary products, which effectively improves the export profitability of the industry and promotes domestic silica to get rid of the dilemma of "low-end export and low-price competition".
The strong export momentum of domestic silica is inseparable from the support of quality improvement and technological innovation. In recent years, domestic enterprises have continued to increase R&D investment and optimize production processes, and core indicators such as product purity and dispersion have reached the international advanced level, and some high-end products have even achieved the substitution of similar overseas products. At the same time, enterprises actively adapt to the needs of the international market, and customize R&D products for environmental protection standards and application scenarios in different countries and regions, such as low-carbon biomass silica launched for the EU market, which has successfully avoided carbon tariff barriers and has been widely recognized by overseas customers.
According to the analysis of industry insiders, the current global silica market demand continues to pick up, especially the demand growth in emerging fields such as new energy and fine chemicals, providing a broad space for domestic silica exports. In the future, with the continuous upgrading of domestic silica technology, the continuous improvement of brand influence, and the further development of overseas markets under the "Belt and Road" initiative, China's silica exports are expected to continue to maintain a growth trend, gradually enhance their voice in the global market, and promote the high-quality development of foreign trade in the industry.
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