Titanium Dioxide Prices Rise for the Third Consecutive Month in March: Industry Breakthroughs and Structural Reshaping Driven by Cost Pressures

In March, the domestic titanium dioxide (TiO2) market in China saw a rare price-hike wave. Rongbai Group Co., Ltd. issued three consecutive price-increase letters on March 2, 16, and 24, respectively. The cumulative increase raised the domestic TiO2 product prices by 2,000 yuan per ton. The single-month price increase hit the highest level in recent years. Driven by leading companies, more than 20 domestic TiO2 producers rapidly followed suit, and the market formed a collective “three straight price increases” stance. This price-hike wave sweeping through the TiO2 market, on the surface, is a market behavior in which companies voluntarily adjust product prices. In reality, it is a passive breakout under continuously rising upstream costs, and it also reflects structural adjustments after the TiO2 industry in China has been under long-term pressure.

Rising costs like a tide

Price hikes are truly unavoidable

Upstream raw material price increases are the direct driving force behind the TiO2 “three straight price increases.” A TiO2 company’s decision to raise prices is, in essence, a reluctant move under high and persistent costs—more specifically, a survival-defense battle against losses if prices are not raised.

During TiO2 production, sulfuric acid is an indispensable core raw material: it is consumed in huge quantities and is directly tied to product costs. According to industry estimates, producing one ton of TiO2 requires consuming about 3 tons to 4 tons of sulfuric acid. Every fluctuation in sulfuric acid prices is transmitted directly to the TiO2 production cost side. If the sulfuric acid price rises by 500 yuan per ton, the cost of TiO2 will increase by 1,500 yuan to 2,000 yuan per ton. For TiO2 companies already teetering on the edge of losses, this cost increment is undoubtedly adding insult to injury. In March, the sharp surge in sulfuric acid prices completely pierced through the cost floor for TiO2 companies, becoming the direct trigger for the TiO2 price increases.

The root of the rise in sulfuric acid prices lies in the significant increase in its upstream raw material, sulfur, forming a cost transmission chain of “sulfur up → sulfuric acid up → TiO2 up.” According to commodity data platforms such as Business Society, as of March 31, the domestic sulfur benchmark price reached 5,726.67 yuan per ton, up 46.46% from 3,910 yuan per ton at the beginning of March. The price rally was both intense and fast, exceeding market expectations. Since 2026, the continued rise in sulfur prices has not been coincidental; it has been jointly driven by multiple factors, including tightened supply due to geopolitical conflicts, the concentrated release of spring plowing demand, and rising import costs.

The rise in sulfur prices quickly transmits to downstream markets, directly driving a sharp increase in sulfuric acid prices. According to Business Society data, as of March 31, the domestic sulfuric acid benchmark price was 1,580 yuan per ton, up 49.41% from 1,057.5 yuan per ton at the beginning of March.

Therefore, under the pressure of simultaneous and sharp increases in raw material prices such as sulfur and sulfuric acid, TiO2 companies’ production costs surged rapidly, and the “internal drive” to raise prices became unprecedentedly strong. Raising prices became the only choice for companies to maintain normal production and relieve cost pressure. As of March 31, domestic tax-included ex-factory prices of various types of TiO2 were as follows: rutile-type via the sulfuric acid process at 14,800 yuan to 15,800 yuan per ton, anatase-type at 14,000 yuan to 14,300 yuan per ton, and rutile-type via the chloride process at 15,000 yuan to 17,500 yuan per ton.

Long-term industry pressure

Losses force price increases

The dense price hikes by TiO2 companies are not due to a real recovery in industry demand. Instead, it is because the TiO2 industry has been stuck on the edge of losses for a long time and operating pressure has kept intensifying, forcing companies to raise prices collectively in order to seek a survival and breakout.

In 2025, the domestic TiO2 industry overall performance was sluggish. Market prices oscillated and trended downward, and companies generally faced a dilemma of “double decreases” in both revenue and profit, with some companies falling into losses. On March 24, Anhui Ananda Titanium Industry Co., Ltd., a long-established domestic TiO2 company, disclosed its 2025 report showing the company achieved operating revenue of 1.69 billion yuan, down 10.4% year on year; attributable net profit was a loss of 92.58 million yuan, down 922.5% year on year. A performance pre-announcement from Guangdong Huiyun Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. indicates that the company is expected to record an attributable net loss of between 46 million yuan and 65 million yuan in 2025. Jinpu Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. expects an attributable net loss of between 428 million yuan and 489 million yuan in 2025.

The root of the operating pressure on TiO2 companies lies in the two-way squeeze between costs and prices. In 2025, domestic TiO2 prices continued to fluctuate downward. According to data from Zhuochuang Information, in the first half of 2025, the average TiO2 market price in China was 14,425 yuan per ton, down 11% from the same period in 2024. In particular, in the second quarter, the price of rutile-type TiO2 fell quickly from 15,500 yuan per ton to 13,700 yuan per ton. By the end of December 2025, the domestic tax-included ex-factory quotation range for rutile-type TiO2 was 12,400 yuan to 13,600 yuan per ton, while for anatase-type it was 11,800 yuan to 12,200 yuan per ton—both at low levels in recent years. Meanwhile, upstream raw material prices continued to fluctuate; prices of key raw materials such as titanium ore concentrate and sulfuric acid rose one after another, further squeezing companies’ profit margins. According to Zhuochuang Information, from 2024 to 2026, the profitability of domestic TiO2 companies continued to deteriorate. After the third quarter of 2025, companies in the industry entered loss-making one after another. Losses worsened further in the fourth quarter, with per-ton losses of about 1,800 yuan. In the first quarter of 2026 (as of March 25), industry losses expanded further, and per-ton losses rose to 2,300 yuan per ton.

Although in March TiO2 prices achieved a “three straight price increases” totaling 2,000 yuan per ton, this increase still could not fully offset the upward pressure on the cost side. Industry estimates show that even just the increase in sulfur prices alone brought TiO2 companies a cost increment of over 1,800 yuan per ton. The cumulative increase from the three price hikes could only barely cover this cost increment. As a result, improvement in companies’ profitability was limited, and most companies remained in “marginal profits” or “break-even” conditions.

Sustained operating losses are, in turn, forcing the TiO2 industry’s supply side to accelerate its exit and shakeout. The pace of industry reshuffling keeps quickening. According to statistics released by the Titanium Dioxide Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, in 2025 there were 18 companies in China with actual TiO2 output of 100,000 tons or more, an increase of 3 compared with 2024. Among existing production companies, 9 stopped production or shut down, and 2 new companies (one each using the hydrochloric acid method and the chloride method) started production. On January 26, the US Tronox Group announced the permanent shutdown of its TiO2 production facilities in Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China. The plant involved capacity of 50,000 tons per year. It had entered long-term shutdown status since October 2025. The shutdown reasons were mainly weak domestic demand, overcapacity, and persistently depressed price levels. On the same day, Jinpu Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. released an announcement saying that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Xuzhou Titanium Chemical Co., Ltd., officially ceased operations, further reducing industry supply. In addition, in 2025, China’s TiO2 output reached 4.72 million tons, down 470,000 tons year on year, a decrease of 1%. This is the first time in more than 20 years that China’s annual TiO2 output declined, and it also confirms the acceleration of the supply-side exit process in the industry.

Cautiously optimistic outlook ahead

Industry differentiation intensifies

For the subsequent trajectory of the TiO2 market, industry players generally hold a cautiously optimistic view. From the short term, “Gold Three and Silver Four” as the traditional peak consumption season for the TiO2 industry, together with strong support from the cost side, gives grounds to believe TiO2 prices may remain at high levels. At present, sulfur and sulfuric acid prices are at elevated levels, and the likelihood of a significant drop in the short term is low, meaning TiO2 companies’ cost pressure will likely persist.

Behind optimistic expectations for the industry, however, there are still many hidden concerns. Among them, uncertainty on the demand side is a key variable that affects the future price direction. As the second quarter arrives, the TiO2 industry will gradually enter the traditional off-season, and demand from downstream terminal industries such as coatings and plastics is expected to decline. Whether these industries can effectively absorb the current price hikes will be a core factor in determining whether TiO2 prices can stay at elevated levels. What warrants caution is that the consecutive TiO2 price hikes in March may have already overdrawn some downstream demand. Currently, terminal companies and distributor channels have completed phased inventory replenishment. Meanwhile, because upstream costs are rising faster than TiO2 prices, some TiO2 companies still face significant profitability pressure.

In summary, the “three straight price increases” in China’s TiO2 market in March are not a signal of industry recovery. They are instead a passive response driven by cost pressures, and they are also an active survival breakout pursued after the TiO2 industry has suffered long-term losses. With geopolitical risks not yet resolved and upstream cost support still strong, TiO2 prices are expected to maintain a high-level oscillating pattern in the short term. But in the long term, the industry still needs to address deeper issues such as weak demand, overcapacity, and profitability under pressure. This price-hike wave will further intensify differentiation in the TiO2 industry. Leading companies, leveraging scale advantages, cost advantages, and technological advantages, are likely to find an opportunity to catch their breath during this price-hike cycle. By contrast, small and medium-sized TiO2 companies, lacking scale effects and having weaker cost control capabilities, will have their survival space further squeezed under the dual pressure of high costs and weak demand, thereby accelerating the industry reshuffling process. This may indeed be an important turning point for China’s TiO2 industry to move away from extensive growth and toward high-quality development.

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