The "butterfly effect" stemming from shipping uncertainties in the Strait of Hormuz is rapidly sweeping across the global chemical market. Driven by surging costs, the long-dormant domestic titanium dioxide market has witnessed a wave of price hikes since March.
Reporters from *Securities Times* have learned from multiple sources—including industry leaders and stakeholders across the supply chain—that due to mounting cost pressures regarding sulfur and sulfuric acid, domestic titanium dioxide prices recorded three consecutive increases in March alone, with a cumulative rise reaching approximately 2,000 yuan per ton.
Analysts point out that although the recent price hikes for titanium dioxide have partially taken effect, industry enterprises continue to face operational pressures due to high production costs; consequently, the bullish trend in the market is likely to persist in the short term.
**Titanium Dioxide Prices Rise Three Times in a Single Month**
"Based on current market conditions, Lomon Billions Group has decided to adjust the prices of all its Xuelian® titanium dioxide products effective March 24, 2026. Prices for the domestic market will be raised by 1,000 RMB per ton above current levels, while prices for the international market will be raised by 150 USD per ton above current levels."
In recent days, a price-hike notification issued by Lomon Billions Group—a leading player in the titanium dioxide sector—has been circulating within the industry. Following this move, a succession of other titanium dioxide companies have also announced plans to raise their prices.
"The company has indeed raised its prices recently, primarily driven by rising costs for raw materials such as sulfuric acid and sulfur," a representative from Lomon Billions Group told a *Securities Times* reporter. The representative noted that the industry has recently exhibited a general upward trend in pricing, with current prices rising by approximately 2,000 RMB per ton compared to their previous lows.
On the market front, data from SCI99 (Zhuochuang Information) indicates that on March 24, major domestic titanium dioxide manufacturers once again raised their quoted prices by 1,000 RMB per ton. This brought the cumulative price increase for the month of March alone to 2,000 RMB per ton—marking a rare instance of three consecutive price hikes within a single month. Data from Longzhong Information further reveals that as of March 30, the mainstream price for rutile-type titanium dioxide had risen by 1,125 RMB per ton compared to the beginning of the month, representing an increase of 8.38%.
As a professional within the titanium dioxide supply chain, Yang Xun—a titanium industry analyst at Yantai—has also keenly felt the impact of recent price hikes.
"It is rare to see titanium dioxide prices undergo three consecutive rounds of increases within such a short period—a phenomenon seldom witnessed over the past two decades. As of March 27, this third wave of price hikes has prompted more than twenty domestic manufacturers—including Annada, Haifengxin, and Tihai—to successively issue notices announcing price increases," Yang Xun noted. He acknowledged that recent price fluctuations in the titanium dioxide market have been relatively volatile, with both the frequency and magnitude of the increases exceeding market expectations. Amidst this overarching upward trend, several distinct characteristics have emerged within the trading market. On one hand, driven by bullish outlooks for the future, suppliers are currently in no rush to ship out inventory. Consequently, the supply of low-priced goods in the market has dwindled, and instances of premiums being applied to scarce spot inventory have become increasingly common. On the other hand, due to the excessive frequency of recent price hikes, the validity periods for price quotes have shortened significantly; market scenarios involving rapid price escalations, the suspension of new orders, and long queues for shipments have become increasingly prevalent.
"Upstream suppliers have indeed raised their prices; however, for our company, the actual realized cost increase has not been quite as steep," an executive from a publicly listed paper manufacturing firm—who requested anonymity—told reporters. He explained that because his company consumes a substantial volume of titanium dioxide, it possesses a certain degree of bargaining power relative to upstream suppliers; as a result, the impact of rising costs on their operations has not yet become particularly pronounced. Nevertheless, he conceded that small-to-medium-sized paper manufacturers typically possess weaker bargaining power; for these firms, the recent wave of concentrated price hike announcements by titanium dioxide producers will undoubtedly exert significant pressure on their cost structures.
Rising Raw Material Prices Trigger Surging Production Costs
In interviews, industry insiders largely attributed the current round of consecutive price hikes for titanium dioxide to cost-push factors.
"Typically, producing one ton of titanium dioxide requires 1.3 tons of sulfur or 4.2 tons of sulfuric acid. Since the fourth quarter of last year, the prices of sulfur and sulfuric acid have entered an upward trajectory, with a particularly sharp surge observed in March," stated Yang Xun. He noted that while the recent sustained rise in titanium dioxide prices has been bolstered by an increase in orders held by suppliers, the impact of the persistently firm prices for raw materials—sulfur and sulfuric acid—has been even more significant.
Data from Zhuochuang Information indicates that as of March 30, the average domestic price for 98% concentrated sulfuric acid stood at 1,501.25 yuan per ton—an increase of 31.33% compared to early March and 41.92% compared to the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. Taking the average mainstream transaction price for domestically produced solid sulfur as another example, prices reached 5,417.50 yuan per ton as of March 27; this represents an increase of 1,771.25 yuan per ton since the beginning of the year, or a growth rate of 48.58%. Currently, domestic sulfur prices are hovering at a relatively high historical level; as early as January of this year, prices had already surpassed the peak reached during the previous price surge cycle observed in 2022.
The impact of these price fluctuations in sulfur and sulfuric acid on companies within the industry has already become apparent.
Hengbang Shares, a company primarily engaged in precious metal smelting, possesses the capacity to produce millions of tons of sulfuric acid as a byproduct. In its 2025 annual report, the company noted that its sulfuric acid output during the reporting period reached 1.7255 million tons—a 51.76% increase over the same period in the previous year. Furthermore, revenue generated from sulfuric acid sales surged by 375.52% year-on-year, a result attributed primarily to increased production volume, higher sales volume, and rising selling prices.
An industry insider in the sulfuric acid production sector told reporters that, amidst disruptions caused by geopolitical factors, sulfuric acid prices are exhibiting a "geopolitical premium" and may well remain at relatively elevated levels in the short term. For downstream enterprises, the focus must therefore shift toward strategies aimed at "cost reduction and efficiency improvement" as well as "refined operational management."
"The current round of price hikes is primarily driven by the fact that, in recent years, the growth rate of international demand has outpaced that of supply. Supply tightness began to manifest gradually in the second half of 2024, subsequently triggering a rapid surge in prices throughout 2025. Since the beginning of 2026, the geopolitical situation in the Middle East has further exacerbated this already strained supply predicament. Given that China relies on imports for approximately 50% of its sulfur requirements—with the Middle East serving as a key trading partner accounting for over 55% of total imports in 2025—domestic prices have inevitably been adjusted upward in response to high international market rates and tight supply conditions," stated Liu Zhenpeng, a sulfur analyst at Zhuochuang Information.
As a direct downstream product, sulfuric acid is highly susceptible to the wide fluctuations in the price of its primary raw material—sulfur—resulting in mounting cost-side pressures.
Fan Xiaoying, a sulfuric acid analyst at Zhuochuang Information, noted that the domestic market is currently in a phase where major smelting enterprises are undergoing concentrated maintenance shutdowns, leading to persistently tight spot market supplies across various regions. On the demand side, overall performance among downstream sectors remains robust; leading enterprises are maintaining stable operating rates, and procurement driven by essential, non-deferrable needs continues to provide strong market support. Although sulfuric acid export volumes witnessed a significant decline in the first quarter, this reduction has not been sufficient to alleviate the overall tightness of domestic sulfur resources.
Profitability Remains Elusive for Enterprises, Yet Expectations for Price Hikes Persist
In recent years, titanium dioxide production capacity has expanded significantly; however, sluggish operating rates at downstream facilities and lackluster demand—compounded by factors such as reduced exports resulting from anti-dumping policies—have kept the market in a state of persistent oversupply. Consequently, prices have entered a phase of low-level fluctuation and consolidation.
In its analysis of a year-on-year decline in financial performance, Jinpu Titanium Industry noted that the selling prices for titanium dioxide products in 2025 remained at a low ebb, exerting a substantial negative impact on product gross margins.
Lubei Chemical was even more candid in its corporate announcement, stating that—driven by a deep structural adjustment within the domestic real estate sector and a slowdown in infrastructure investment growth—demand in the downstream coatings and pigments market has remained persistently sluggish. This impact has rippled upstream, intensifying competition within the titanium dioxide market and resulting in a trend characterized by a simultaneous decline in both sales volume and price. Although the company successfully reduced unit costs through process optimization, these efforts proved insufficient to offset the adverse effects stemming from falling product prices. This situation led to a contraction in gross margins for this business segment and a decline in gross profit per ton, ultimately resulting in a downturn in the company's overall profitability.
According to data from Zhuochuang Information, the profitability of titanium dioxide manufacturers has been on a steady decline between 2024 and 2026. Upon entering the third quarter of 2025, titanium dioxide enterprises began successively slipping into a loss-making state; losses intensified in the fourth quarter, with the loss per ton hovering around 1,800 yuan. In the first quarter of 2026 (as of March 25), industry-wide losses continued to widen, with the loss per ton rising to 2,300 yuan.
"The reason for the current market's continuously expanding losses is that the rate of increase in raw material prices is outpacing that of titanium dioxide prices. As of March 25, data monitored by Zhuochuang Information indicates that the average production cost for titanium dioxide in March rose by 4% month-on-month compared to February; during the same period, however, market prices for the product rose by only 3%, resulting in a widening of losses in March—compared to February—by nearly one percentage point," stated Sun Shanshan, a titanium dioxide analyst at Zhuochuang Information.
Following three consecutive price hikes, does the titanium dioxide market still have room for further upside?
"Although the current firm pricing of titanium dioxide has left market participants struggling to keep up with the rising costs, the supply-demand dynamic governing trading activity still leans slightly in favor of the supply side. Current order volumes may have, to some extent, 'front-loaded' or 'overdrawn' future demand; nevertheless, judging by the titanium dioxide manufacturers' own backlogs and raw material cost structures, market prices are unlikely to soften between April and May. Prices for sulfate-process rutile titanium dioxide, in particular, may potentially reach 18,000 yuan per ton." Yang Xun believes that the tone for the titanium dioxide market in April has been essentially set for a price rally, with the supply side expected to remain in a state of continued tightness. Moving forward, key factors to watch include the costs of raw materials—specifically sulfur and sulfuric acid—as well as the status of export orders.
Lu Jiaxin, a titanium dioxide analyst at Longzhong Information, also believes that the current wave of price hikes in the titanium dioxide industry may persist until late April, potentially driving the price of rutile-grade titanium dioxide to between 15,000 and 16,000 yuan per ton.
"The current rise in titanium dioxide prices is driven solely by increased costs resulting from rising raw material prices. Given the pronounced imbalance of strong supply and weak demand within the sector, fundamental supply-and-demand dynamics are exerting only limited upward pressure on prices," Sun Shanshan noted during an interview. She further cautioned that while many titanium dioxide manufacturers currently appear to be holding low inventory levels, substantial stockpiles have, in reality, merely shifted downstream to processing plants and traders, rather than being genuinely absorbed by the end market. As inventory continues to accumulate across various stages of the industrial chain, the risk of a sharp market price correction is steadily intensifying. Should raw material prices enter a downward trajectory, market prices for titanium dioxide are expected to follow suit with accelerated declines.