China’s import and export for Fluorspar declining for the second month

The Calcium Fluoride (Fluorspar) prices in China have witnessed an upward trend since the beginning of this quarter, owing to the robust demand from the overseas market participants. Also, strong demand from downstream sectors amid increased Electric Vehicles (EVs) uptake backed this upsurging trend of Calcium Fluoride. The rising demand for rechargeable batteries, especially in the EVs, is pushing up the Fluorspar market in China as producers are increasingly switching to fluoride ion as an alternative to the lithium-ion, as fluorine has a stronger electronegativity. Meanwhile, the imports in China from overseas suppliers plunged due to supply constraints and lower demand in the domestic market.

Since March, China's imports and exports of Fluorspar tumbled in an annual comparison in March 2022 due to fallow purchasing activity among the Chinese domestic buyers. However, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine provoked the supply chain constraints affecting some global manufacturers. Additionally, the resurgence of COVID-19 in China forced the authorities to curb the production activity of many commodities, including Calcium Fluoride. Due to this, the slowdown in China's logistics evoked.

In Mexico, the sanctions on the San Luis Potosi fluorspar mine, which is owned and operated by Koura, due to the safety concerns, have ushered in a reduction in the production activities and led to supply concern issues for the consumers. Moreover, the downstream demand for hydrofluoric acid (HF), a vital chemical used in the manufacturing of refrigerants, started to fly for the shortage of Fluorspar inventories in China.

As per ChemAnalyst, "The Fluorspar price in the global market will continue to rise owing to the robust demand in the battery sector since Fluorspar is used for the production of Hydrofluoric Acid and the lithium-ion grade batteries. Prices of Fluorspar are likely to increase in the coming months because of persisted tightness in supplies and the high demand from the photovoltaic (PV) & specialty grade HF markets."