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Vast potential, high growth rates, industry expansion and a higher standard of living are just a few of the typical phrases you could use to describe what's in and around the Chinese printing ink sector. In this whirlwind tour of the industry, which is based on IAL Consultants' recent Profile of the Chinese Printing Ink Industry, there is opportunity to throw light on the individual elements of raw materials, the ink and printing industries and some interesting aspects of this booming national market.
CONTRASTING RAW MATERIAL SUPPLIES
Many of the key raw materials necessary for the printing ink sector are available through a wide number of Chinese enterprises, peppered with one or two major joint ventures from the west. Carbon black is a good example, with leading indigenous producers such as China Synthetic Rubber (Ma'anshan) Chemical Industrial and Tianjin Dolphin Carbon Black intermingled with Shanghai Cabot Chemical and Qingdao Degussa Chemical near the top of the league.
In titanium dioxide, where there are over 60 producers in China, major producers number among them Jinan Yuxing Chemical General Factory with capacity of 25,000 tpa, followed by four other key indigenous producers with a capacity of 15,000 tpa each. Most of the world's major producers of titanium dioxide are also busy supplying to China; an interesting aspect of this has been the introduction of the rutile form of titanium dioxide into China over the last two-and-a-half years. Some indigenous producers, such as Sichuan Longmang, now have access to advanced technology for the production of the rutile form, although the general picture reveals China to be a major importer of the rutile type and a major exporter of the anatase type.
The resin production sector leans towards flexibility rather than outright dedication to a single technology at a time. In its totality, the Chinese synthetic resin sector mustered an output of almost 16 million tonnes in 2002, which is expected to rise to 22 million tonnes this year. A strength to be noted is in the rosin resin sector, which is supported by China being the world's top rosin producer and a 400-companies strong industry at that; output of gum rosin stood at 582,000 tonnes in 2003. Rosin production is concentrated mainly...