1. China's titanium dioxide production capacity increase in 2021

Due to the impact of the 2020 epidemic, new plants originally planned to be put into operation in 2021 have been delayed. Currently, only CITIC Titanium (formerly Jinzhou Titanium) 60,000 tons of chlorination plants can be put into operation at the end of 2021. According to CITIC Titanium, the current progress of the new device is stable, and it is planned to reach 7,000 tons by the end of 2021 (calculated based on the current production capacity, about 1-2 months of production).

2. China's titanium dioxide output is expected to reach 3.6 million tons in 2021, an increase of 3.29%

The newly added capacity in 2020 will be the 100,000-ton sulfuric acid plant of China Nuclear Power Titanium Dioxide. The capacity will be fully released at the end of the third quarter. After a month or so adjustments in the fourth quarter, the output will be stable. If the steady start of construction is maintained in 2021, the output is expected to be higher than that in 2020. An annual increase of 50,000 to 60,000 tons. In addition, it was mentioned in the previous article that CITIC Titanium's new device plans to reach 7,000 tons, and no other new production capacity will be put into operation in 2021. Considering the current high price of titanium dioxide, rutile exports are expected to be good. During the Spring Festival, most manufacturers will maintain production. It is expected that 2021 Production will increase by about 100,000 tons over 2020, reaching 3.6 million tons.

3. China's titanium dioxide export volume is conservatively estimated at 1.2 million tons in 2021

In the second half of 2020, due to differences in domestic and foreign epidemic control, China's titanium dioxide exports have surged, and the average monthly export volume has remained above 110,000 tons. According to the current epidemic control situation in several major titanium dioxide producing countries/regions at home and abroad, it is conservatively expected that China’s titanium dioxide export volume will remain at a considerable amount in the first half of 2021. If the global epidemic is brought under control in the second half of the year, China The monthly export volume of titanium dioxide will also remain at 80,000 to 90,000 tons. Therefore, China's titanium dioxide exports in 2021 are expected to be 1.2-1.33 million tons.

4. China's apparent consumption of titanium dioxide is expected to be 2.5 million tons in 2021

Since 2016, the price of the titanium dioxide industry has experienced two sharp increases, the reasons are closely related to exports, while the apparent consumption changes are stable and slow. The average annual growth rate of apparent consumption from 2016 to 2020 is 4.13%. As of November 2020, the newly started area of ​​domestic real estate has decreased by 2% compared to 2019. It is expected that the whole year will be basically the same as 2019, that is, the real estate start in 2020 will be basically the same as in 2019. Taking into account the impact of the 2020 epidemic, as far as the current domestic epidemic is concerned, the start of real estate in 2021 is expected to resume the previous year's growth rate, within 10%. Combining the average annual growth rate of apparent consumption in the past five years and the growth rate of newly started real estate area, it is estimated that the consumption of titanium dioxide in 2021 will be around 2.5 million tons.