Affected by the tight supply of domestic and foreign ores, the price of raw material alumina continues to rise, providing strong support for the production cost of white corundum. Therefore, the overall white corundum market is in an upward trend in 2024. But as the price of white corundum rises, the price difference between white corundum and brown corundum gradually increases. Some domestic buyers have begun to replace white corundum with brown corundum. In cases where it cannot be replaced, buyers are also trying to reduce inventory reserves in order to save costs. The overall market demand for white corundum is relatively weak. And the supply of white corundum is gradually decreasing due to factors such as raw material shortage and environmental control. By the end of 2024, the white corundum market will be in a weak supply-demand situation.
At the end of 2024, the price of raw material alumina began to decline slightly, and the tight supply of alumina in 2025 may be completely reversed. High priced alumina is difficult to sustain in the long run, so the cost support for white corundum will gradually weaken. Supply side: As usual in previous years, after the heating season, environmental control gradually decreases. With the easing of the tight supply of raw materials, the operating rate of white corundum kilns will gradually rise, and the market supply will improve. On the demand side: Influenced by macro factors, China's production of iron and crude steel has been declining year by year in recent years, resulting in a decreasing trend in the total demand for refractory materials in the end market. With the development of the industry, cost reduction and efficiency improvement have gradually become the main assessment criteria for the demand side market. Therefore, in the case of a large price difference between white corundum and its competitor brown corundum, it is inevitable that white corundum will be partially replaced, and market competition may become increasingly fierce. Overall, it is highly likely that the white corundum market will remain in a situation of strong supply and weak demand by 2025. With the gradual weakening of raw material cost support, the white corundum market may experience weak fluctuations.
