The concerns of European paint manufacturers Teknos and AkzoNobel are becoming a reality. On January 9th, after the European Commission finally decided to impose anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese titanium dioxide (titanium dioxide), Chinese titanium dioxide suppliers generally increased product prices in January and February, especially targeting Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. When the European Union proposed to impose anti-dumping tariffs on titanium dioxide originating from China in July last year, European coating companies such as Tex and AkzoNobel stated that imposing tariffs would seriously affect emissions and industry profitability, and may attract companies to invest outside the EU. The EU's imposition of tariffs will have significant social impacts, affecting the EU's ability to achieve green agreement goals and weakening its competitiveness. The EU needs to develop more production capacity and supply of titanium dioxide internally to meet consumer demand, so it should not impose additional tariffs on titanium dioxide from China.? AkzoNobel even told Bloomberg that the EU's imposition of anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports of titanium dioxide and the proposed tariffs on epoxy resin by the US will ultimately affect the prices of related products purchased by consumers in the EU and the US.

In 2025, China's titanium dioxide industry will experience its first wave of price increases, marking the first time the industry has been subject to anti-dumping duties imposed by the European Union. At present, more than 20 titanium dioxide companies have raised their prices, with an international price range of 50-100 US dollars per ton and a domestic price range of 300-500 yuan per ton. On January 9th, the European Commission issued a final anti-dumping ruling on titanium dioxide originating in China, imposing anti-dumping duties of 0.25-0.74 euros per kilogram on the products involved. On January 17th, international titanium dioxide giant Venator announced that due to the impact of the European energy crisis, it will raise the price of all titanium dioxide (titanium dioxide) sold in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East by 300 euros/ton from February 1st, 2025. On the eve of the Lunar New Year, leading titanium dioxide companies Longbai Group, China Nuclear Titanium Dioxide, and Huiyun Titanium Industry raised the price of titanium dioxide by 50-100 US dollars per ton internationally and 300-500 yuan per ton domestically. After the Spring Festival, Hengtong Titanium Industry, CITIC Titanium Industry, and Jinpu Titanium Industry also sent letters to raise the price of titanium dioxide, with the same increase as before. Although the export price of titanium dioxide in China has increased by 50-100 US dollars per ton, it is far less than the anti-dumping duty of 250-750 euros per ton imposed by the European Union.

According to customs data, the cumulative export volume of titanium dioxide in China for the whole year of 2024 was 1.9017 million tons, an increase of 260100 tons or 15.84% compared to the same period last year. The export volume in December increased by 6.10%. It is expected that the export volume of titanium dioxide in China will remain at around 140000-150000 tons in January 2025. Due to the reduction of equipment maintenance and supply by domestic titanium enterprises, as well as the Chinese New Year holiday in January, the export volume may decrease. Currently, most titanium companies are implementing new order prices, and after the holiday, they mainly focus on delivering orders in hand. Some new orders are still under negotiation, and the overall supply has slightly decreased due to reduced equipment maintenance before the Spring Festival. At present, the mainstream ex factory prices for titanium dioxide are 13900-14800 yuan/ton for rutile type, 12400-13200 yuan/ton for anatase type, and 16200-17500 yuan/ton for chlorination method.