HZ info，Dingjide has released a notice regarding price adjustments for its antioxidant products, announcing an update to the prices of its entire antioxidant series, with an overall increase of approximately 10%. The new prices are effective immediately from the date of issuance. This marks the fourth leading antioxidant enterprise to initiate a price hike within half a month.

In Dec, Rianlon took the lead in issuing a price adjustment letter, proposing an increase of around 10% for its antioxidant products. Subsequently, Liansheng followed suit with a price adjustment for light stabilizers, also by about 10%. Fengguan announced an average price increase of 10% for its main antioxidant series. In just half a month, a collective price hike wave has surged through the antioxidant industry, with highly consistent adjustment. The collective price increases by the four major additive leaders aim to address irrational competition and cost pressures within the industry, promoting optimization of the industry landscape.

Since 2023, intensified industry competition, fluctuating downstream demand, and volatile raw material prices have plunged the additives sector into a quagmire of low-price internal competition. Profit margins for leading enterprises have been severely squeezed, with revenue growth not translating into profit becoming the industry norm. Against this backdrop, the coordinated price hikes by leading companies are not only a response to the national directive against cutthroat competition but also a proactive move to restore profitability, ensure R&D investment, and steer the industry towards healthier competition.

This presents renewed cost pressures for downstream enterprises already grappling with volatile raw material prices and intense market competition. In December, international chemical giants including Wanhua, BASF, Dow, and Huntsman announced price increases for MDI and TDI products. Beyond MDI hikes, prices of coatings-related raw materials like neopentyl glycol and sulfur have risen to varying degrees. The price of sulfur, an upstream raw material for titanium dioxide, has surpassed 4,000 RMB/ton, marking a 160% increase from 1,545 RMB/ton in the same period of 2024 and getting a yearly peak, and a dramatic 446% surge from the low of 735 RMB/ton in 2023. The rising sulfur costs have concurrently pushed up titanium dioxide expenses. Recently, companies such as Huiyun, Tianyuan, and LB Group have successively raised titanium dioxide prices, with domestic increases of 500-700 RMB/ton and international increases of 70-100 USD/ton.

In 2025, the performance of China's leading chemical enterprises has been generally under pressure. With continuous capacity exits over the past two years, the deepening "anti-involution" trend may accelerate the of outdated capacity and the orderly expansion of high-end capacity, driving continuous improvement in the supply-demand.