Wollastonite: Trading
Why particle shape, not tonnage, sets the deal
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.Wollastonite has no exchange contract. It is sold by grade under negotiated contracts between producers and compounders, ceramic makers and paint firms. Price depends on particle size, aspect ratio (length to width), brightness and surface treatment. Trade journals and industrial-minerals price services report indicative ranges, but transactions are private. Because a high-aspect-ratio grade behaves like a functional filler rather than a bulk commodity, buyers qualify specific products. Switching suppliers can take formulation testing.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Tile and frit makers in China and India (Morbi, Gujarat cluster in India)
- Plastics compounders, paint makers and brake-pad makers in Europe, the US and Japan
- India imported 30,625 t in 2021-22, 99% from China (IBM)
Where it is sold (sellers)
- Chinese miners sell domestically and export
- Wolkem in Rajasthan exports; Belgium took 57% of India's 2021-22 exports, with Hungary, Germany and Japan next (IBM)
- US New York miners export (the US was a net exporter in 2025); Mexico supplies North America
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| None | No futures or exchange contract | All trade is bilateral |
Contract types
- Annual supply contracts by grade (particle size, aspect ratio, brightness, surface treatment)
- Spot container shipments of bagged powder
- Distributor sales to smaller users
Top trading houses
- No major trading houses; producers sell direct or through specialist mineral distributors
How prices are discovered
- Bilateral negotiation; finer and acicular grades command higher prices (USGS)
- Customs unit values from IBM/DGCIS as public proxy
- No Indian exchange contract