According to the monitoring data of the business community, the domestic fluorite price will rise sharply in 2022, with an average price of 2855.56 yuan/ton at the beginning of the year. At present, the average domestic fluorite price is 3200 yuan/ton, up 12.06%. It can be clearly seen from the fluorite price trend chart that the highest price of fluorite in 2022 will appear at the end of the year, with the highest price of 3200 yuan/ton. The lowest price of fluorite will appear at the beginning of April, with the lowest price of 2547.22 yuan/ton and the maximum amplitude of 25.63%. On the whole, fluorite will rise.
It can be seen from the K column chart of the monthly fluorite price in 2022 that the annual fluorite market price rose more than fell, and the annual price trend was divided into two stages. The first stage was the low price from the beginning of the year to March, and the domestic fluorite market price fell back; The second stage is from the beginning of April to the end of April. The price trend of fluorite continues to rise. The specific trend is as follows:
In the first stage, from the beginning of 2022 to the end of March, the price trend of the domestic fluorite market declined. The price at the beginning of the year was 2855.56 yuan/ton, and the price at the end of March was 2547.22 yuan/ton. The price trend declined by 10.80%. At the beginning of the year, due to the epidemic situation, many businesses in the south stopped production, there were few fluorite transactions, and the price trend did not change much. In the early March, the parking devices continued to operate, and the on-site supply increased significantly. The shipments of businesses in the market were general. The operating rate of fluorite devices in the north rose, the on-site transactions were not positive, and the fluorite price trend declined.
The second stage is from the beginning of April to the end of April, when fluorite prices rose unilaterally. The price of domestic fluorite rose from 2547.22 yuan/ton to 3200 yuan/ton, an increase of 25.63%. The domestic price of fluorite keeps rising, and the advantages in the stage are superimposed. In the second half of the year, the mine starts are low, and the supply of raw materials is very tight. As a result, the price of fluorite remains high. In addition, the export of fluorite has increased significantly, and new demand continues to develop, which is good for support. The fluorite market has gone up all the way.
To sum up, the fluorite market trend will rise in 2022. The main positive factors are as follows:
First: The supply of fluorite raw ore is tight. The reserves of fluorite in China account for 13.1% of the world’s total, while the output accounts for 62.8%. In recent years, the basic reserves of fluorite resources identified in China tend to be stable. Backward mines in China will continue to be eliminated. In terms of new mines, mineral survey is still difficult. Mining enterprises are faced with increasingly stringent safety and environmental protection requirements, resulting in insufficient starting of fluorite mines, shortage of domestic fluorite raw materials, limited starting of fluorite flotation, insufficient spot supply, serious epidemic in some regions, difficult transportation of fluorite, very tight supply of fluorite, and rising fluorite prices.
Second, the export volume of fluorite increased significantly. In the second half of the year, overseas mines in Canada and Mexico stopped production, overseas fluorine chemical giants were generally out of stock, and domestic acid grade fluorite received more and more inquiries from international buyers, which aggravated the shortage of domestic fluorite supply. From January to September 2022, China’s total export of fluorite with calcium fluoride content ≤ 97% is about 174500 tons, an increase of 60.12% over the same period last year; The total export volume of fluorite with calcium fluoride content>97% in China is about 172100 tons, up 397.32% over the same period last year. The export volume of fluorite has increased significantly, supporting the higher price.
Third: rapid development of new demands. In addition to the well-known fluorine chemical industry, fluorite, as an important mineral raw material for modern industry, is also used in strategic emerging industries such as new energy and new materials, as well as national defense, nuclear industry and other fields, including lithium hexafluorophosphate, PVDF, graphite cathode, photovoltaic panels, etc. With the demand of new energy and semiconductors and other fields, the outlook of fluorite industry chain has been supported in the long run.
Fluorite, as a raw material, led the rise in the fluorine chemical sector. The price changes of various products in the fluorine chemical sector in 2022 are as follows:
It can be clearly seen from the product price change chart that the trend of the fluorite industry chain will be differentiated in 2022, and the refrigerant industry will start to slow down. Previously, downstream refrigerant enterprises were all trading at a loss in order to compete for HFC production quota. With the implementation of the quota of three generations of refrigerants, the history of competition for the refrigerant industry quota will soon end, which also provides a basis for the price increase of the industry chain.
Future forecast: Chen Ling, a fluorite analyst from the business community, believes that the price of fluorite will rise in 2022. From the perspective of the supply of fluorite market, the mining difficulties of domestic mines will remain unabated, some domestic mines will continue to be eliminated, and the development speed of new mines will be slower than the elimination speed. The shortage of raw fluorite ore supply will be the normal state in the later period. Strategic emerging industries such as new energy and new materials continue to develop, and the increase in demand for photovoltaic and graphite electrodes has brought some positive support to the fluorite market in the later period. However, with the gradual resumption of overseas mines, the export of fluorite will be subject to certain restrictions, and the overall development of the fluorite industry is still optimistic. In 2023, the highest price of the fluorite market will reach 3500 yuan/ton, and the lowest price will also be about 2700 yuan/ton.