Recently, the General Administration of Customs of China issued a notice announcing the suspension of sulfuric acid exports from May 1st. It is reported that the export control measures were jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs, prohibiting the export of ordinary industrial sulfuric acid and smelting by-product sulfuric acid. Only the special export channel for electronic grade high-purity sulfuric acid used in semiconductor manufacturing is retained, and it is stated that the main purpose of suspending exports this time is to ensure the supply of raw materials for domestic spring plowing production and key industrial sectors in China.
The core of this policy aims to prioritize the supply of raw materials in key areas such as domestic spring plowing phosphate fertilizer production and new energy battery manufacturing, while forcing the domestic chemical industry to transform towards high value-added electronic grade sulfuric acid, balancing domestic supply and demand with industrial upgrading.
China holds an absolute dominant position in the global sulfuric acid supply chain, with sulfuric acid production reaching 126 million tons by 2025, accounting for over 40% of the global total production; The export volume exceeds 4.6 million tons, accounting for 23% of global trade volume and 45% of Asian trade volume. It is the core supply source for countries such as Chile, India, and Indonesia.
As the world's largest producer and exporter of sulfuric acid, China's move directly cuts off nearly a quarter of the world's sulfuric acid supply. Coupled with the impact of the Middle East sulfur supply chain blockage, global sulfuric acid prices continue to soar, and the four core industrial chains of agriculture, mining, new energy, and semiconductors are facing an "acid shortage" crisis. Supply chain restructuring is urgently needed.
Overview of Organic Silicon Market on May 11th:
The domestic DMC market remained stable today, with an average price of 14900 yuan/ton in the China region, unchanged from yesterday. Each individual enterprise's quotation is running smoothly, waiting for cost pressure to be transmitted to the demand side; During the execution of the pre-sale contract, the inventory level of the enterprise remained consistently low. Downstream users have entered the destocking stage, with insufficient enthusiasm for restocking, and the performance of newly signed contracts on the same day is relatively weak.
The key points that have an impact on the later price trend are as follows:
It is expected that the market price will show a stable, moderate, and slight upward trend in the short term. The core influencing factors include: on the supply side, due to the execution of pre-sale orders, DMC's spot circulation has been tight recently, but with the increase in the proportion of external sales, it may ease in late May; At the psychological level, upstream individual companies insist on high quotes, while downstream companies adopt a wait-and-see attitude; In terms of cost, due to the expected shutdown and environmental inspection of a large manufacturer in Xinjiang, the market believes that the supply side will tighten, leading to the continuation of last week's rise in spot prices. However, downstream sales are weak, and there are only sporadic transactions in the market.