Recently, the 22nd Chinese Chlor-Alkali Forum was held in Xiamen. The meeting pointed out that at present, the steady development of chlor-alkali industry, market changes of caustic soda and the solution of alkali-chlorine contradictions became the focus of attention.

The meeting pointed out that in recent years, China's chlor-alkali industry maintained a steady development. By the end of 2018, there were 161 caustic soda manufacturers nationwide, with a capacity of 42.59 million tons, a total output of 34.2 million tons and an average operating rate of 80%. There were 75 polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production enterprises, with a capacity of 24.04 million tons, a total output of 18.74 million tons and an average operating rate of 78%. The annual profit of the chlor-alkali industry reached 20 billion yuan.

Zhang wenlei, vice chairman and secretary-general of China Chlor-Alkali Industry Association, said in his speech that China's industrial concentration of chlor-alkali industry continued to improve, production technology level continued to improve, enterprise innovation capacity continued to enhance, industry economic benefits improved significantly, safety, environmental protection and energy conservation level reached a new level, gradually becoming a more cleaner green technology.

Currently, caustic soda market showed inflection point starting from historical high-order position. Chlor-Alkali contradiction was still outstanding. Zhang huaitao, deputy general manager of Xinfa Group Co. Ltd, judged that caustic soda was widely used in the alumina industry, accounting for 33% of total consumption. The largest user of chlorine gas is PVC, accounting for 40% of the total consumption of chlorine products, and the general supply and demand of other chlorine products have been balanced. As the demand of downstream alumina and electrolytic aluminum at home and abroad reached peak, and the recovery ratio of alumina continued to increase, the future caustic soda price would be stable in a reasonable area.

Wang dandan, assistant director of industrial products business division of Dalian Commodity Exchange, showed that PVC futures have been on the market for 10 years, playing an important role in price discovery and hedging, promoting the continuous integration of industry and finance, realizing the interaction between futures and spot goods, and providing a guarantee for industrial chain enterprises to avoid risks and stabilize production and operation.

This forum was hosted by China Chlor-Alkali Network and supported by Dalian Commodity Exchange. More than 360 representatives from domestic and foreign chlor-alkali production enterprises, upstream and downstream raw materials and traders, equipment providers, financial institutions and research institutes participated.