Soda Ash Industry Exports Warming

It is understood that the rapid growth of production capacity and the slower pace of demand follow-up, and increasing exports is a feasible measure to ease the high inventory pressure in the soda industry. Today, China's soda ash industry exports are heating up.

According to statistics, the export volume of soda ash in the first nine months of this year was significantly larger than the same period of last year, an increase of 12.2%, breaking the stalemate in consecutive years of decline.

High-yield regions such as Qingdao, Nanjing and Tianjin have become major export regions. Customs data show that the export volume of soda ash has been declining year by year. From 2.23 million tons in 2009 to 1.514 million tons in 2011, the export volume decreased by 34.8%. However, the situation has reversed this year. The export volume in the first nine months was significantly larger than that in the same period of last year. In September, the monthly export volume reached 151,000 tons, an increase of 60.9% from the same period of last year; the major exporters were mainly ASEAN, South Korea, and Japan, and the soda ash sold to South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand was close to two countries. The annual share exceeds 60%.

China's soda ash production capacity has been ranked first in the world. Soda ash production capacity has been expanding rapidly in recent years. As of the end of 2011, the domestic annual production capacity of soda ash reached 29.9 million tons, accounting for 47.6% of the world's total production capacity. The soda ash industry has experienced overcapacity, and the pace of future capacity expansion is accelerating. According to statistics, by the end of 2013, more than 4 million tons of production capacity will be added. By the end of 2020, the planned plant capacity will exceed 10 million tons.

The consumption of soda ash in glass accounted for about 42% of the total domestic soda ash consumption. The downturn in the soda ash industry was mainly due to weak demand in the glass industry. Affected by the macroeconomic policies of the country, the real estate market is at a low point. In the first half of 2012, the output of flat glass broke the tendency of increasing in successive years. Recently, the news of the upcoming IPO glass has become a hot spot. The Glass ** has been approved by the state and will be listed and traded on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange. In the long run, the introduction of the glass ** will promote the healthy and orderly development of the soda industry.