The contradiction between supply and demand in the paraffin market has intensified, and high-end development has become its development trend.

Paraffin is a mixture of hydrocarbons extracted from the distillates of petroleum, shale oil or other bituminous mineral oils. Paraffin wax is also called crystal wax. It appears as white or light yellow translucent flakes or needle crystals. Its main component is solid alkanes. It is odorless and tasteless. It is mainly used in the manufacture of candles, higher fatty acids, higher alcohols, ointments, electrical insulation materials and other products. , downstream applications involve medicine, cosmetics, electronics and electrical, construction and other fields.

According to the “2022-2026 Paraffin Industry Venture Investment Situation and Investment and Financing Strategy Guidance Report issued by the Industrial Research Center, my country is China is a major producer and consumer of paraffin. From 2014 to 2019, the output of my country’s paraffin industry showed an upward trend. Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, the output of the paraffin industry declined in 2020. However, with the recovery of the domestic economy, paraffin demand is released and industry output rebounds. In 2021, the output of my country’s paraffin industry will increase to 1.624 million tons, an increase of nearly 13 percentage points compared with 2020.

In terms of the consumer market, with the development of aerospace, microelectronics, optoelectronics and other industries, the market demand for paraffin wax has grown steadily. However, since 2018, affected by the Sino-US trade war, the new crown epidemic and other factors, paraffin consumption has been on a downward trend and output has increased. , Insufficient domestic demand has led to oversupply in the paraffin market, and the contradiction between market supply and demand has become increasingly prominent. Paraffin is a high-energy-consuming, high-pollution industry. In recent years, as environmental protection supervision has become increasingly strict and energy conversion has accelerated, the paraffin industry’s backward production capacity has continued to be cleared, and the contradiction between market supply and demand has been alleviated.

In order to expand the market and find a way out, domestic companies have opened up overseas markets for paraffin wax. Against this background, the scale of my country’s paraffin wax exports has gradually expanded. For a long time, my country’s paraffin wax market has mostly been in a trade surplus situation. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, in 2021, my country’s paraffin wax export volume was 801,900 tons and import volume was 20,300 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 6%. From the perspective of export distribution, my country’s paraffin wax is mainly exported to the United States, Mexico, Vietnam and other countries.

There are many types of paraffin, including liquid paraffin, microcrystalline paraffin, vinyl chloride paraffin, chlorinated paraffin, semi-refined paraffin and other types. As a major paraffin producer in the world, my country has a large number of paraffin manufacturers, including Sinopec, PetroChina, Fushun Hengyi Petrochemical, Hengshui Xinye Chemical, etc., and the market competition is fierce. At present, my country’s paraffin industry still has irrational structural problems, with overcapacity in the middle and low-end, and high-end products such as special paraffin still rely on imports. The structure of the paraffin industry needs to be adjusted urgently.

Industry analysts said that my country is a major producer and consumer of paraffin. In recent years, as the downstream market has become increasingly mature, my country’s paraffin consumption has The growth rate has slowed down, and the contradiction between supply and demand in the paraffin market has intensified. At present, our country is in a critical period of transformation from a large manufacturing country to a strong manufacturing country. The domestic market demand for high-end paraffin wax continues to rise. Against this background, high-end development has become one of the important trends in the development of the paraffin wax market.