Due to the continuous rise in raw material costs, after Longqi Enterprise issued a price increase notice on March 21st, other titanium manufacturers also followed by raising their prices, leading to the "third round" of price increases in the titanium dioxide industry. However, there has been no noticeable improvement in downstream demand. Despite it being the traditional peak season of “golden March and silver April,” buyer sentiment for signing orders is not as high as expected. There is a situation where demand from previous orders has been over-consumed, and currently, buyers are mainly placing orders for essential needs. The situation of manufacturers is polarized, with some still in a state of processing and shipping orders, while others have increased inventory and generally adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Under this situation, some manufacturers are primarily focused on fulfilling earlier orders, and they are relatively cautious about receiving new orders and large orders. The execution of new order prices remains to be confirmed. Currently, the market is still in a观望state, maintaining a wait-and-see attitude.

The global economic recovery has driven an increase in international market demand. Simultaneously, the results of anti-dumping investigations by major importing countries have been successively implemented, leading foreign customers to stockpile 1-2 months of inventory in advance. This demand frontloading has caused a rise in China's titanium dioxide exports in the first quarter. However, export growth has slowed due to international trade frictions and exchange rate fluctuations.

According to customs data, from January to February 2025, the cumulative export of titanium dioxide reached 315,900 tons, increasing by 7.68% year-on-year. The export volume of sulfuric acid process titanium dioxide was 257,600 tons, with the top three export destinations being India, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, accounting for 20.57%, 6.88%, and 5.56% of the total export volume, respectively. About 58,400 tons of chlorinated process titanium dioxide were exported, with the top three export destinations being India, Egypt, and South Korea, which accounted for 18.17%, 8.75%, and 7.33% of the total chlorinated process export volume, respectively. The export data from the first two months of this year shows that the economic growth of emerging developing countries such as India, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, along with the development of infrastructure and real estate, has led to strong demand in downstream industries such as coatings and plastics. On the other hand, the reduction caused by EU anti-dumping measures has forced domestic titanium dioxide enterprises to accelerate the development of markets in Southeast Asia due to the impact of anti-dumping measures in the EU and India.

Due to the dual impact of rising raw material costs and declining market demand, it is expected that titanium dioxide prices will decrease in the second quarter following the off-peak and peak season cycle. On the supply side, limited new capacity release is influenced by industry profits, but the market oversupply situation remains difficult to alleviate. With the continuous advancement of environmental policies and accelerated industry consolidation, the titanium dioxide industry will move towards scale and intensification, and the market share of leading companies will further expand. It is expected that the mainstream market price of sulfuric acid process rutile titanium dioxide in the second quarter will be 14,200-15,900 yuan/ton, with a negotiation price fluctuation range of about 300-500 yuan/ton. The actual transaction price will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on order volume and manufacturer inventory levels.