Entering late August, China’s chemical market remains in the traditional summer trading off-season. High temperatures affect the operating load of chemical plants, environmental inspections become more frequent across many regions, the overall trading pace of bulk chemicals slows down, and market wait-and-see sentiment prevails. Prices of most basic chemical raw materials fluctuate within a narrow range. Against this backdrop, the long-standing structural divergence in the silica industry continues to deepen. Green supply chain audits and product compliance certifications have gradually become mandatory access thresholds for downstream customers. Ordinary precipitated silica without relevant environmental, safety and carbon footprint certifications faces shrinking procurement channels and declining market demand. Silica products with complete compliance qualifications and multiple green certifications have successfully entered the supply chain systems of leading enterprises with steadily expanding order volumes. Compliance qualifications are becoming core market access credentials for silica manufacturers.

　　From the supply side, production lines at major domestic silica production bases operate generally steadily. Production facilities previously shut down for maintenance and environmental upgrades have resumed normal operation. The industry has sufficient overall filler capacity to meet procurement demand in low-end sectors such as basic rubber, plastics and ordinary coatings. However, production lines vary greatly in compliance level. Small and medium-sized production lines commissioned in early years are equipped with outdated environmental protection facilities, making it difficult to complete LCA life cycle assessment, carbon footprint accounting, green product certification and other related procedures. Their products cannot be included in the qualified supplier lists of large and medium-sized downstream manufacturers, and sales are limited to small processing plants with continuously shrinking market space. Newly built and technically renovated production lines of leading enterprises are constructed in accordance with green factory standards from the project planning stage, equipped with complete pollutant treatment and energy consumption monitoring systems, and can provide full sets of compliance test reports. Multiple product grades are developed to meet different green procurement standards. Such compliant silica capacity is released in an orderly manner with sufficient long-term cooperation orders and tight tradable spot supply. Manufacturers maintain stable bargaining power and rarely participate in vicious low-price competition. Meanwhile, many leading enterprises take the initiative to cooperate with authoritative third-party institutions for certification evaluation and continuously improve their qualification portfolio, further widening the competitive gap with small and medium-sized manufacturers.

　　In terms of upstream raw materials and comprehensive costs, prices of sodium silicate, sulfuric acid, modification additives and other raw materials have fluctuated moderately recently, and the impact of basic raw material costs on silica product pricing has weakened. Expenses related to compliance such as various certification tests, EIA re-review, carbon verification and environmental operation and maintenance account for an increasing proportion of enterprises’ overall operating costs. Large-scale enterprises with sound quality inspection systems can share various certification fees, and multiple products can share one set of qualifications to reduce unit compliance costs. Small and medium-sized factories with low output face high investment and long return cycles when applying for full green certifications, and most choose to abandon relevant qualification applications, being forced to stick to the low-end market. Coupled with increasingly strict policies on dual control of energy consumption and pollutant discharge, non-compliant production lines face mounting pressure for technical renovation and further squeezed profit margins. The industry sees accelerated concentration of production capacity toward compliant leading enterprises.

　　The accelerated implementation of green procurement standards in major downstream industries drives steady growth in demand for certified compliant silica. As the largest application market for silica, leading tire brands at home and abroad have successively released green procurement lists, incorporating carbon footprint and environmental compliance into raw material assessment indicators and giving priority to purchasing highly dispersible silica with green certifications. In the coating industry, water-based industrial paints, green architectural coatings and children’s coatings implement strict raw material access specifications. Demand for matting silica with compliance certifications keeps rising, and unqualified ordinary fillers are gradually phased out. In the fields of silicone sealants and special rubber products, products for electronic appliances and food contact are subject to strict regulatory constraints, and the supporting silica must pass relevant safety compliance tests. Within the new energy track, supply chain audits for manufacturers of lithium battery separator coatings and photovoltaic encapsulation materials grow increasingly stringent. The production compliance and traceability documents of powder raw materials need complete filing, promoting market expansion of high-purity compliant fumed silica. In addition, industries including pesticide formulations and daily care products have successively updated supplier access rules, pushing silica manufacturers to complete various compliance certifications.

　　In foreign trade exports, compliance qualifications are essential for domestic silica to enter overseas markets. Markets such as Europe, America, Japan and South Korea have established complete green regulations and certification requirements for chemical powder materials. Products without corresponding qualifications are highly likely to be detained or returned by customs, incurring high port detention fees. In the past, a large amount of ordinary precipitated silica from China competed for overseas markets merely through low prices and frequently encountered trade barriers. Today, high-quality domestic manufacturers make early arrangements for international compliance certifications, and their products meet requirements such as REACH and carbon border regulations, smoothly entering the supply chains of large overseas material enterprises. Emerging markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East have gradually improved raw material procurement specifications with reference to international standards, and export orders for compliant domestic silica have increased steadily. High-quality overseas orders continuously divert domestic high-end compliant supplies, supporting firm product prices and promoting the overall compliance level of the domestic industry.

　　Industrial research institutions analyze that the divergent market trend of silica cannot be reversed in the short run. Ordinary precipitated silica without green compliance qualifications faces dual pressure of shrinking demand and intensified competition, operating weakly. Compliant silica with a complete certification system that meets downstream green procurement standards enjoys strong demand support across multiple sectors, sufficient market resilience and stable quotations. Approaching the traditional chemical stocking season in September, leading downstream enterprises will carry out centralized autumn raw material bidding, and certified compliant silica is expected to witness a procurement peak. In the medium and long term, with the widespread adoption of global green supply chain management, various compliance certifications will become basic industry access requirements. The market share of low-end products without qualifications will continue to decline. Improving the green certification system and building a compliant product portfolio will become the long-term development focus for silica manufacturers.

　　For participants across the industrial chain, downstream product enterprises can continuously optimize supplier access standards, prioritize silica manufacturers with complete green compliance qualifications, complete sample verification and document filing in advance, and avoid subsequent supply chain compliance risks. Upstream producers shall make overall plans for qualification application, complete certifications covering environmental protection, carbon footprint, product safety and other fields, develop special silica products adapted to green formulations, provide complete traceability and test documents, and transform from basic filler suppliers into compliant material solution providers. Trading and distribution enterprises can focus on the compliant powder distribution track, build supply channels with complete qualifications, serve customers in export processing and high-end new materials, and tap value-added circulation potential of compliant silica. In the long run, complete green compliance qualifications, stable product quality and comprehensive technical supporting services will determine enterprises’ market competitiveness, and the standardized and green transformation of the silica industry will keep advancing.