Production of soda ash
Production capacity and output of soda ash in China. In the early 1990s, China ended its long-term dependence on imports and gradually became a net exporter of soda ash. Since 2003, China’s soda ash production capacity and output ranked first in the world, reaching a historical high in 2014. As of 2018, China’s soda production capacity is 31.15 million tons, and the output is 26.21 million tons.
Capacity and output of light and dense soda ash. In 2018, China’s light soda ash output is 13.25 million tons and the dense output is 12.96 million tons. From 2007 to 2018, the proportion of heavy alkali production increased from 30% to 49%, and the growth rate of heavy alkali production was also much higher than that of light alkali.
Production capacity of soda ash with different production processes. As of 2018, there are 44 soda ash manufacturers in China. Among them, there are 29 enterprises using the combined alkali process, most of which have production capacity less than 1 million tons, mainly distributed in Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Chongqing. There are 12 enterprises adopting ammonia alkali process, most of which have production capacity higher than 1 million tons, mainly distributed in Qinghai, Jiangsu and Shandong. There are only three enterprises using natural alkali method, two of which are located in Henan and one in Inner Mongolia.
Distribution of soda production capacity. China’s soda ash production is mainly concentrated in East China, central China and Northwest China. The total production capacity of Jiangsu in East China is 5.5 million tons, accounting for 46%; Henan in Central China is 4.2 million tons, accounting for 66%; Qinghai in Northwest China is 4.3 million tons, accounting for 83%. In 2018, the utilization rate of national soda production capacity is 84%, and soda production units are distributed in 22 provinces (cities, autonomous regions). Henan and Qinghai rely on rich raw material resources and geographical advantages to continuously release new capacity.
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In 2018, the capacity of soda ash in Central China is 6.36 million tons, accounting for 20% of the total capacity of the country, including 4.2 million tons in Henan, accounting for 66% of the total capacity of central China and 13% of the total capacity of the country; the capacity of soda ash in Northwest China is 5.15 million tons, accounting for 17% of the total capacity of the country, including 4.3 million tons in Qinghai, accounting for 83% of the total capacity of the northwest region and 14% of the total capacity of the country. In addition, the production capacity of soda ash in North China, Southwest China, South China and Northeast China respectively accounts for 12%, 9%, 2% and 2% of the total production capacity of the country.
Concentration of soda industry. As of 2018, there are 44 soda ash manufacturers in China. There are 12 enterprises with an annual production capacity of 1 million tons or more, with a total production capacity of 17.6 million tons, accounting for 56% of the total production capacity; there are 13 enterprises with a production capacity of 500000-1 million tons, with a total production capacity of 8.35 million tons, accounting for 27%; there are 19 Enterprises with a production capacity of less than 500000 tons, with a total production capacity of 5.2 million tons, accounting for 17%.
The existing large-scale production groups in China’s soda industry mainly include Tangshan Sanyou, China’s salt industry, Jinshan Chemical Industry and Yuanxing energy, accounting for 10.91%, 8.44%, 6.42% and 5.78% of the total national production capacity, respectively, totaling over 31%.
Soda demand
Overall demand. China is the largest soda consumption country in the world. With the development of economy, the consumption of soda ash in China is increasing. In 2018, China’s total demand for soda ash was 25.12 million tons, a decrease of 660000 tons compared with 2017, an increase of 6.35 million tons compared with 2010, and a total increase of 34% in 8 years. Among them, the demand for heavy alkali is 13.47 million tons, an increase of 64% compared with that in 2010; the demand for light alkali is 11.65 million tons, an increase of 10% compared with that in 2010, and the contribution rate of the demand growth for heavy alkali to the total demand growth of soda ash is 83%. The demand for light alkali in the downstream is growing slowly. In 2018, the demand for light alkali in China was 11.65 million tons, an increase of 1.1 million tons compared with 2010.
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Demand structure. In the application field of soda ash in China, 4% of soda ash is used in the food industry, belonging to the category of edible soda ash; 96% of soda ash is used as raw materials or auxiliary agents for industrial production, belonging to the category of industrial soda ash. Generally speaking, to produce 1 ton of flat glass requires 0.2 tons of heavy alkali, that is, a float glass production line with a daily melting capacity of 1000 tons consumes 200 tons of soda per day. In recent years, the demand for soda ash in the flat glass industry as a whole presents the characteristics of “V”. From 2013 to 2014, the demand for soda ash for flat glass has always remained above 11.6 million tons. In 2018, the consumption of heavy alkali in the glass industry was 13.03 million tons, up 9.9% month on month, and the demand remained at a high level in the past five years.
Import and export of soda ash
China is a net exporter of soda ash. In 2018, China exported 1379000 tons of soda ash, imported 294000 tons of soda ash, and exported 1085000 tons of soda ash. Compared with the total output and demand of domestic soda ash, the proportion of export and import is not high, which is only one of the adjustment ways of supply and demand balance of domestic soda market.
Since 2007, the annual export volume of soda ash in China is about 1.8 million tons, accounting for 8% of the domestic annual output. After 2009, the domestic demand for soda ash is stronger, the enterprise profit is maintained at a reasonable level, and the export volume of domestic soda ash falls down as a whole. Except for 2015, the export volume is less than 2 million tons, and the export volume in 2018 is 1.38 million tons.
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