Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Paints and coatings and Titanium dioxide

Titanium dioxide is the white pigment that gives paint its hiding power, and paint took about 56% of all TiO2 in 2020. It can be up to 40% of a paint's raw material cost, so pigment prices and trade duties flow into paint makers' margins; Chinese pigment met about 57% of India's demand in the investigation period, and India imposed new duties in October 2026.

Paints and coatings (chemical) and Titanium dioxide (chemical): 6 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Main white pigment

Physical flow · Strong · TiO2 into paint

TiO2 is the main white pigment that makes paint opaque, and paints and coatings are its largest use.

  • about 56% share of world TiO2 used in paints and coatings, 2020
  • about 3.6 Mt TiO2 used in paints and coatings, 2020, of about 6.45 Mt in all

Paints head the list of US uses too, ahead of plastics and paper. Better pigment grades can raise opacity enough to cut the amount used per litre, so paint makers manage TiO2 loading closely.

Sources: European Coatings; USGS; PCI Magazine

2. Largest raw material cost

Cost and price · Strong · TiO2 price to paint cost

Because TiO2 is costly and used in large amounts, it is often the biggest single item in a paint's raw material bill.

  • up to 40% TiO2 share of paint raw material cost
  • about $3,200/t US landed TiO2 pigment value, 2024

In a PCI example, a higher-quality pigment grade gave a paint 8% more opacity, letting formulators trade pigment quality against quantity to lower total cost. A rise in pigment prices hits margins first and reaches shelf prices only in later price rounds.

Sources: USGS; PCI Magazine

3. Price link: main use

Cost and price · Strong · Both ways

Paint uses most of the pigment, so pigment cost changes flow into paint prices, with a delay.

  • 0.15 monthly change correlation
  • 0.74 12-month change correlation
  • 0.66 fitted elasticity

Monthly moves correlate at only 0.15, with a two-month lag, but yearly moves at 0.74. Paint makers pass on pigment costs in periodic price increases, and the fitted elasticity of 0.66 fits a raw material that is a large but partial share of cost.

Sources: Material Insights (World Bank, FRED, IMF data)

4. Supply concentrated in China

Geography and ownership · Strong · Most pigment capacity is Chinese

China holds over half of world pigment capacity and is also the largest consumer, so its prices set the cost for importing paint makers.

  • 5.5 Mt China TiO2 pigment capacity, end-2024
  • 9.8 Mt world TiO2 pigment capacity, end-2024

China also takes almost 40% of world TiO2 demand, so its construction cycle moves both its own consumption and its export surplus.

Sources: European Coatings; USGS

5. India anti-dumping on Chinese TiO2

Policy · High in India · Duties raise paint makers' input costs

India imports most of its TiO2 from China, so anti-dumping duty on Chinese pigment raises costs for Indian paint makers while protecting domestic pigment producers.

  • 57% Chinese imports' share of Indian TiO2 demand, investigation period
  • $460 to $681/t anti-dumping duty on Chinese TiO2, from October 2026

A first duty notified in May 2025 was quashed by the Calcutta High Court on 22 September 2025 on a petition by the Indian Paint Association. DGTR issued fresh findings on 3 August 2026, and the finance ministry notified five-year duties on 24 October 2026. Paint makers argued domestic capacity for rutile sulphate grade is negligible.

Sources: ChemAnalyst; Ministry of Finance, India (via World Trade Scanner)

6. Extenders

Substitution · Weak · Cheaper white minerals replace some TiO2

Calcium carbonate, kaolin and talc compete with TiO2 as white pigments and are used to stretch it, though they give less hiding power.

Extenders let formulators trim TiO2 loading when pigment is dear, but they cannot replace it in high-opacity paints, so substitution softens rather than removes the cost link.

Sources: USGS

For investors

Key learnings

  1. TiO2 can be up to 40% of paint raw material cost, so pigment price is the main input variable for decorative paint margins.
  2. China holds 5.5 of 9.8 Mt of pigment capacity, so Chinese pricing and trade remedies set costs for Indian paint makers.
  3. India's duties of $460 to $681/t from October 2026 raise input costs unless paint makers pass them on.

What to track

  • TiO2 import price into India, CIF: Direct cost signal for paint makers (Monthly · DGCI&S, ChemAnalyst)
  • Paint company gross margins: Success of cost pass-through (Quarterly · company results)
  • Chinese TiO2 export prices: Signals the pigment cost Indian and other importing paint makers face (Monthly · China customs, ChemAnalyst)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. The TiO2 duty protects domestic pigment makers but raises costs for a much larger paint industry; the 2025 court ruling showed the procedural risk.
  2. With Chinese imports at 57% of demand, domestic pigment capacity is the structural issue behind repeated trade cases.
  3. Extenders such as calcium carbonate reduce TiO2 need only at the margin.

What to track

  • Domestic TiO2 capacity and output: Progress on import substitution (Annual · company reports, DGTR)
  • Trade remedy actions on TiO2: Policy changes affecting paint costs (Event-driven · DGTR, CBIC)

India

Chinese pigment met about 57% of India's TiO2 demand in the investigation period, and five-year anti-dumping duties of $460 to $681 a tonne apply from October 2026 after an earlier duty was quashed in court.

Sources

  1. Recent and current developments in the titanium dioxide market, European Coatings (2022)
  2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025: Titanium and Titanium Dioxide, USGS (2025)
  3. Debunking conventional wisdom: how high-quality TiO2 actually reduces overall paint costs, PCI Magazine
  4. Indian Paint Association loses ground as TiO2 duty comes back, ChemAnalyst (2026)
  5. Price correlation, Material Insights, Material Insights (World Bank, FRED, IMF data)
  6. Notification No. 26/2026-Customs (ADD): titanium dioxide from China, Ministry of Finance, India (via World Trade Scanner) (2026)