Activated carbon: Trading
The 2025 squeeze on coconut-shell carbon prices
What this tab covers How it is bought and sold: buyers and sellers, price benchmarks and who publishes them, exchanges, contract types, traders, how Indian buyers price it, recent price points, and good sources to follow.Who buys, and where
- Water utilities and filter makers
- Gold mines
- Sugar and food processors
- Coal power plants and incinerators
- Pharmaceutical makers
Who sells, and from where
- Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, Indonesia (coconut)
- China and the US (coal)
- Global producers' reactivation centres
Price benchmarks
| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut-based activated carbon export prices by country | International Coconut Community | monthly |
Exchanges
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| none | no futures | Bilateral contracts by grade (iodine number, mesh size) |
Contract types
- Utility tenders with reactivation service
- Annual supply to mines and food processors
- Spot export sales by Indian and Sri Lankan producers
Traders and distributors
- Distributors and filter makers; few commodity traders
How Indian buyers price it
- Indian exporters price in dollars against Sri Lankan and Indonesian offers; domestic buyers pay import parity for coal-based grades from China.
- Shell charcoal is bought from local collectors at $629-990/t (H1 2025, ICC).
- No Indian anti-dumping duty on activated carbon found.
Recent price points
| Date | Price | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | about $3,000/t | Sri Lanka export, coconut-based | ICC (Dec 2025) |
| Oct 2025 | over $4,300/t | Sri Lanka export, coconut-based | ICC (Dec 2025) |
| Oct 2025 | above $2,200/t | Indonesia export, coconut-based | ICC (Dec 2025) |
| H1 2025 | about $629-990/t | India coconut shell charcoal | ICC (Dec 2025) |
Good sources to follow
International Coconut Community market reviewsfree research site · International Coconut CommunityMonthly shell charcoal and activated carbon trade and prices
TrendEconomy HS 380210 trade datafree research site · TrendEconomyAnnual trade by country for activated carbon
IMARC activated carbon plant insight (India)freemium research site · IMARC GroupIndian plant economics and market size
GlobeNewswire market report summariesfree research site · ResearchAndMarkets via GlobeNewswireMarket size and company lists