China dominate in TiO₂ commodites, Western opportunity in specialty
One of the most underappreciated dynamics in titanium is the deep bifurcation of the TiO₂ market, and China’s saturation in the commodity segment.
China’s market share gains have coincided with significant price swings. During 2021–2022, TiO₂ pigment prices spiked as post-pandemic demand surged. This coincided with some supply constraints (including Western production issues), and major producers like Chemours and Tronox pushed through price increases.
However, Chinese exporters aggressively targeted overseas markets (e.g. India and Brazil) during 2022–2023, when domestic demand slowed (primarily due to China’s property downturn and COVID lockdown effects), removing “value” from the market by undercutting prices which had risen 12.9% year-on-year. According to an analysis, 400,000 tons of TiO2 was exported annually by China to India and Brazil (markets where antidumping duties now exceed $500 per ton) pricing out competition. And, as new Chinese sulfate plants came online and exports rose, the supply-demand balance shifted to surplus by late 2022. The result was a steep decline in pigment prices through 2023 and 2024.
Chinese TiO₂ is predominantly sulfate-process material, which is lower-cost, lower-grade, and suitable for commodity coatings, plastics, and paper applications. Sulfate-process pigment does not require the high-grade feedstock (natural rutile, synthetic rutile, or chloride slag) that chloride-process pigment demands.
Western TiO₂ producers (Chemours, Kronos, Venator, Huntsman) operate primarily via the chloride process, which produces a higher-purity, higher-performance pigment suitable for aerospace-grade coatings, high-performance automotive finishes, and specialty applications. Chloride-process pigment commands a significant premium over sulfate-process material.
This market bifurcation means:
- Chinese players dominate the commodity segment with massive volume at lower margins
- Western players retain meaningful share in the specialty/high-performance segment, expected to grow, at higher margins and better pricing power
- the two markets are not direct competitors for all applications
The key competitive pressure is in the commodity segment, where Chinese exporters have flooded markets and undercut pricing — triggering an anti-dumping response across the world.
