Graphite: Trading
Why battery makers' qualification makes contracts sticky
Why battery makers' qualification makes contracts sticky What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.Graphite has no futures market. It is sold under bilateral contracts by grade, defined by flake size, carbon content and purity, with prices assessed by agencies such as Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and Fastmarkets as well as Chinese domestic reporters. Battery-grade material must be qualified by each cell maker before purchase, so contracts are sticky and new suppliers struggle to break in. A zinc producer developing a New York deposit is building a demonstration plant precisely to make concentrate for qualification.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Chinese anode makers (BTR, Putailai, Shanshan) buy flake concentrate from Chinese and African mines
- Cell makers in China, Korea, Japan, the US and India buy coated anode material after multi-year qualification
- Refractory and foundry users in Japan, Germany, India and the US buy flake and amorphous graphite; Japan took 36% of China's natural graphite exports in 9M 2025 (USGS)
- Steelmakers worldwide buy electrodes from HEG, Graphite India and Chinese makers
Where it is sold (sellers)
- Chinese mines sell mostly to domestic anode and refractory makers
- Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and Brazil mines sell flake to China and Europe
- China exports SPG mainly to Korea and Indonesia and anode material worldwide
- India's HEG exports about 65-70% of its electrode output (ICICI Direct 2025)
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| None | No futures contract for natural or synthetic graphite | All trade is bilateral, priced off agency assessments |
Contract types
- Bilateral term contracts by grade (carbon content, flake size such as +80 or -100 mesh)
- Offtake agreements with qualification periods for battery-grade material
- Spot cargoes priced FOB China or CIF Europe
- Quarterly or annual electrode contracts with steelmakers
Top trading houses
- No major global trading houses dominate; Chinese producers and specialist distributors handle most trade
How prices are discovered
- Fastmarkets assessments (MB-GRA-0041 flake 94% C +80 mesh FOB China; -100 mesh; spherical; MB-GRA-0043 HP electrodes FOB China)
- Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Natural Graphite, Anode and Anode Coke indices
- Chinese domestic ex-works quotes (SMM, Mysteel)
- No Indian exchange contract