La escalada del conflicto entre Rusia y Ucrania ha generado preocupaciones en el mercado sobre la cadena de suministro de titanio, principalmente porque Rusia y Ucrania son los principales proveedores de titanio. Excepto por una pequeña cantidad para satisfacer la demanda interna, la mayoría de las exportaciones proporcionan a los clientes globales esponja de titanio o materiales de titanio. Una vez que la situación se deteriore, además del impacto en la producción de titanio en la región, es probable que las sanciones posteriores de Europa y Estados Unidos limiten la exportación de titanio metálico ruso, lo que conducirá a una oferta limitada de titanio metálico en el mercado y desencadenará una compra de pánico y el acaparamiento por parte de los compradores intermedios. En la actualidad, el precio del lingote de magnesio, la principal materia prima del titanio metálico, sigue siendo alto, junto con una fuerte inflación mundial, impulsada por el fuerte aumento de otros-metales no ferrosos, cobre, aluminio y níquel, el Es probable que aumente el precio del metal titanio.
Russia Avisma (VSMPO) is the world's largest sponge titanium producer with an annual production capacity of 34,000 tons/year. It is also the world's largest titanium producer, accounting for more than 20 percent of the world's titanium market share. A major supplier of the titanium used in Airbus and Boeing aircraft skins is the company that supplies a significant portion.
The Ukrainian Zaporozzi Titanium and Magnesium Joint Enterprise is a titanium sponge factory with an annual production capacity of 12,000 tons. It will export 1,527 tons of titanium sponges to China in 2020, accounting for 32.34 percent of China's total imports of titanium sponges.
Due to the complex smelting technology and the difficulty of processing, only the United States, Russia, Japan, and China have mastered the complete titanium industrial production technology in the world at present, forming a pattern in which the top four dominate. In addition, although there is no sponge titanium industry in Europe, titanium processing and application technology is at the world's advanced level. Ukraine and Kazakhstan inherited part of the former Soviet Union's titanium sponge industry.
In 2020, China's export volume of titanium sponge was 548.5 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 47.6 percent . The import volume of titanium sponge in China was 4,722.6 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 33.9 percent .
Among them, in 2020, the import volume of China's titanium sponge to most countries is Kazakhstan, with an import volume of 2,310 tons, accounting for 48.91 percent of China's total import of titanium sponge; followed by Ukraine's import of titanium sponge with a volume of 1,527 tons, accounting for China's total import of titanium sponge The volume is 32.34 percent ; again, Japan imported 800 tons of titanium sponge, accounting for 16.94 percent of the total imported titanium sponge in China.