(June 1, 2026) Against the backdrop of global chemical supply chain restructuring and overseas regional capacity shortages, domestic white carbon black foreign trade exports will maintain a strong prosperous trend in 2026. Unlike previous years, which focused on low-priced exports of low-end products, this year silica exports have shown new characteristics such as steady growth in total volume, optimized structure, high-end overseas expansion, and rising premiums. Relying on a complete industrial chain support, stable capacity supply, and continuously upgraded product quality, domestic white carbon continues to replace local production capacity in Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea, steadily increasing its global market influence and competitiveness, becoming a leading category in chemical raw material exports.

According to the latest customs statistics, in the first quarter of 2026, China's total exports of white carbon achieved steady growth, maintaining double-digit year-on-year growth, and achieving growth in both export volume and export value for several consecutive quarters. In terms of export regions, traditional Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern rigid demand markets remain stable, relying on local tire and rubber product industry clusters, maintaining stable import demand for silica year-round and forming the core foundation of domestic silica. Meanwhile, the expansion of markets in Europe, Latin America, and Africa has been remarkable, becoming core sources of export growth, completely breaking the previous highly concentrated export market pattern, and expanding overseas market layouts into increasingly diversified markets.

The overseas capacity gap continues to widen, creating an excellent window for domestic products to go global. In recent years, many European and American countries have been affected by high energy prices, strict environmental policies, and industrial relocation, leading local silica producers to continuously reduce production and shut down production lines. Europe, as a traditional hub for silica production, saw several international chemical giants reduce domestic capacity, widening the supply gap in the regional market and making it highly dependent on imported supplies. In contrast, domestically, the industrial chain is mature, energy supply is stable, and large-scale production advantages stand out, enabling the continuous and stable output of high-quality silica black, becoming the global core supply base for silica black and smoothly absorbing the global capacity transfer dividend.

The export product structure has made a qualitative leap, completely reversing the low-end export situation. In the past, domestic exports of white carbon mainly relied on low-end products using the conventional precipitation method, with thin profits and fierce homogeneous competition, relying on low prices for a long time to capture the market. Since 2026, with the acceleration of domestic industrial upgrading, the export share of high value-added products such as high-dispersion tire-specific silica, daily chemical-grade silica, and high-end vapor-phase silica has increased significantly. High-end modified silica, successfully entering the European green tire market, overseas high-end daily chemicals, and precision manufacturing supply chains, significantly increasing the average export price of the product, completely breaking free from the low-price internal competition in foreign trade, and greatly improving the industry's export profitability.

Trade barriers are gradually being broken, and the international recognition of domestic products continues to rise. Previously, domestically produced high-end silica often faced trade barriers such as overseas quality certification and carbon footprint certification, which limited the pace of high-end products going global. Since the beginning of this year, leading domestic companies have actively aligned with international standards, completed multiple international qualification audits such as EU REACH certification and green carbon footprint certification, and successfully entered the high-end markets of Europe and America. At the same time, relying on overseas warehouse layouts and localized pre-sales and after-sales services, the company further enhances overseas customer loyalty, continuously enhancing the influence of domestic brands.

In contrast to the strong growth in exports, China's imports of silica have continued to decline year by year. With technological breakthroughs in domestic high-end products, high-end fumed silica previously dependent on imports and functionally modified silica have basically achieved self-sufficiency, with the effectiveness of import substitution becoming evident and the industry's trade surplus continuing to expand. The domestic silica industry has officially moved away from the passive pattern of "low-end exports and high-end imports," forming a new trade model of "self-sufficiency, high-end exports."

Industry foreign trade analysts say that the current global supply and demand structure for white carbon has been completely reshaped. With its triple advantages in production capacity, technology, and the industrial chain, China has secured a core position in global white carbon black production and export. Going forward, as domestic brands continue to upgrade and international market channels improve, the proportion of high-end silica exports will keep rising. Under the new global trade pattern, white carbon black foreign trade is expected to maintain long-term growth and become a benchmark category for improving the quality and efficiency of domestic chemical exports.