Titanium dioxide: Trading
What a tonne of white pigment costs in India and America
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
- Paint makers (Asian Paints, Berger, AkzoNobel, Sherwin-Williams, PPG, Nippon Paint)
- Masterbatch and plastics compounders
- Decor paper makers
Who sells, and from where
- Chinese producers (LB Group and others)
- Chemours, Tronox, Kronos
- Distributors and traders in India and Southeast Asia
Price benchmarks
| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| China rutile TiO2 ex-works price | SunSirs; SMM | daily or weekly |
| US TiO2 unit value | USGS | annual |
Exchanges
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| none | no futures | Contract and spot sales; quarterly price announcements by Western producers |
Contract types
- Annual or quarterly contracts with global paint makers
- Spot sales through distributors
- Grade-specific qualified supply
Traders and distributors
- Regional distributors; few global traders
How Indian buyers price it
- Indian buyers price at import parity from China plus customs duty and, when in force, anti-dumping duty.
- DGTR recommended $460-681/t on Chinese TiO2 (Feb 2025); the May 2025 notification was quashed by the Calcutta High Court on 22 Sep 2025 and collection stopped in Dec 2025; fresh final findings on 3 Aug 2026 kept the same rates, and the Finance Ministry re-imposed them for five years in October 2026, with Notification No. 25/2026-Customs (ADD) rescinding the quashed 2025 notification (ChemAnalyst; European Coatings; TaxGuru, 24 Oct 2026).
- The duty adds about 19% (LB Group rate) to 28% (residual rate) to landed cost (ChemAnalyst).
Recent price points
| Date | Price | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3,200/t | US average unit value | USGS MCS 2026 |
| DGTR investigation period (2023-24) | about Rs 2.05 lakh/t (about $2,466/t) | landed India from China | ChemAnalyst (2026) |
Good sources to follow
USGS Titanium statistics and informationfree research site · US Geological SurveyPigment capacity, US output, trade and prices
European Coatings: titanium dioxide newsfree newsletter · European Coatings (Vincentz Network)TiO2 plant sales, closures, duties and substitutes
The Metalnomistfree blog · Independent metals blogChinese titanium and pigment producers, LB Group
ChemAnalyst newsfreemium research site · ChemAnalystIndian chemical prices and trade remedies
Iluka Resources quarterly reviewsfree research site · Iluka ResourcesFeedstock volumes and prices