E-commerce Department Director Fu Yijiang of Titanos Group expressed the same expectation with other domestic TiO2 producers and distributors that the price of domestic TiO2 might increase in H2 2013 during CCM's telephone interview with him.

Titanos Group, founded in 1989, is the largest distribution channel and service provider of TiO2 in China and commands significant market recognition and market shares in the industry.

The price of TiO2 kept declining in the past H1 2013. According to CCM's price monitoring, the average price of rutile TiO2 declined from around USD 2,800/mt at the beginning of this year to around USD 2,500/mt in the middle of June 2013, and the average price of anatase TiO2 declined from around USD 2,350/mt at the beginning of this year to around USD 2,100/mt in the middle of June 2013. As a result, most of domestic TiO2 companies have reached a break-even point in H1 2013, while they enjoyed a large scale of profitability during 2011 to H1 2012.

According to Fu, domestic TiO2 industry encountered the longest downside cycle in recent years. In Jan. 2013, domestic TiO2 price continued the downtrend begun in H2 2012. In Feb.-March 2013, due to the traditional dull season and the Chinese Spring Festival holiday, the domestic TiO2 price kept relatively stable, but the price kept decreasing after March 2013.

Fu deemed that the weakening demand from downstream caused the sluggish market of TiO2 industry. First of all, the biggest TiO2 application field----coating industry also witnessed slowing growth in output. During the first five months of 2013, 4,787,822 tonnes of coatings were produced in China totally, attaining a YoY growth of 5.39%, which is much lower than that of 10.70% in the same period in 2012. Most coatings producers shortened their purchasing interval and thus the inventory cycle time was cut down to one or two months from three months to avoid large-scale purchase and purchase TiO2 upon actual demand instead. Secondly, the export volume of TiO2 during Jan.-May 2013 was also disappointing. According to the monitoring data of CCM, China's TiO2 export volume in Jan.-May 2013 slided to 161,183 tonnes from 209,551 tonnes in the same period of 2011, seeing a YoY fall of 23.08%. On the contrary, the TiO2 import volume has kept increasing since Feb. 2013, which stroke the domestic market.

Although the coatings & ink industry might still be in the weak status, the domestic price of TiO2 is expected to increase in H2 2013 by domestic TiO2 producers and distributions. What's more, the consecutive price increase actions of international TiO2giants will do favor to domestic TiO2 market.