By Xiao Ming

In 2021, the total capacity of China’s white black carbon reached 2 600 000 t/a, with main manufacturers of Quechen Silicon Chemical Co., Ltd., Fujian Sanming Zhengyuan Chemical Co., Ltd., Longxing Chemical Stock Co., Ltd., Jiangxi Black Cat Carbon Black Co., Ltd., Shandong Link Science and Technology Co., Ltd. and Tonghua Shuanglong Chemical Co., Ltd., etc.

In recent years, as the capacity and plant utilization rate of China’s white black carbon have changed, and so have the imports and exports of white black carbon. This article is based on China customs data to analyze China’s white black carbon imports and exports from 2017 to 2021 regarding the volume, countries and regions, provinces, cities and districts, trade modes and unit price, etc.

Import analysis

From 2017 to 2021, the imports of China’s white black carbon climbed first, fell afterwards, and then increased by years. The imports of China’s white black carbon from 2017 to 2021 are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 The statistics of China’s white black carbon imports from 2017 to 2021

1. Import source countries and regions

From 2017 to 2021, China imported white black carbon mostly from four countries and regions, including Taiwan of China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan, with imports reaching 51 900 tons in 2017, holding 69.85% of total imports. While the imports in 2021 reached 61 800 tons, about 69.91% of the total. The statistics of China's white black carbon import source countries and regions are shown in Table 1.

2. Import trade modes

From 2017 to 2021, the trade modes of China’s white black carbon mainly included general trade and processing with imported materials. The imports in 2021 reached 86 800 tons, holding 98.19% of total imports, rising 23.65% year-on-year.

From 2017 to 2021, general trade was the most common trade for China’s white black carbon, and during this period the imports were increasing. In 2021, imports reached 65 700 tons, accounting for 8.41% of total imports, with an increase of 14.06% from a year earlier. 

From 2017 to 2021, processing with imported materials was the second biggest import trade for China’s white black carbon, whose imports decreased year by year, but increased afterwards. The imports in 2021 were 21 100 tons, accounting for 23.87% of total imports, with a year-on-year growth of 67.46%.

Export analysis

From 2017 to 2021, the exports of China’s white black carbon increased first, decreased afterwards, and then returned to the increase. From 2017 to 2021, the export statistics of China’s white black carbon are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 The export statistics of China’s white black carbon from 2017 to 2021

1. Export destination countries and regions

From 2017 to 2021, China mostly exported white black carbon to South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and the US, with exports reaching 263 900 tons in 2017, holding 64.38% of total exports. While the exports in 2021 reached 329 700 tons, accounting for 68.35% of the total. The statistics of major export destination countries and regions of China’s white black carbon from 2017 to 2021 are shown in Table 2.

2. Export trade modes

From 2017 to 2021, the most primary export trade mode of China’s white black carbon was general trade, with exports of 407 600 tons in 2017, accounting for 99.44% of total exports. While the exports in 2021 were 471 200 tons, accounting for about 97.68% totally.

Summary

In summary, China’s imports and exports of white black carbon from 2017 to 2021 varied greatly, without clear rules to follow. However, what is stable is white black carbon import and export countries and regions, provinces, cities and districts, and trade modes. The imports, mainly from Taiwan of China, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan, focused on China’s Shanghai city, provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong, and the trade modes were mostly general trade and processing with imported materials. And products, mostly exported to South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico and the US, were mainly found in China’s provinces of Fujian, Jiangsu, Shandong and Hunan, dominantly by general trade.

In the next few years, with more strict requirements on energy-saving and environmental protection of tire products, especially on quality technical indicators such as tire rolling resistance having a greater impact on automobile fuel saving, the demand for white black carbon in tires is expected to further increase, which acts as a major driver for the increase of white black carbon demand. High-performance white black carbon still relies on imports, despite technical progress and capacity growth in recent years. However, exports will steadily increase with quality improvement and cost reduction.