12th Rare Earth Summit
May 27-28, 2021
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
11th Aluminum Raw Materials Summit
May 20-21, 2021
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
9th Magnesium Summit
April 15-16, 2021
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
13th World InBiGeGa Forum
March 25-26, 2021
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
7th World Antimony Forum
June 13-14, 2019
Changsha, Hunan, China
7th Refractory & Abrasive Materials Summit 2019
May 23-24, 2019
Qingdao, Shandong, China
10th Aluminum Raw Materials Summit
May 16-17, 2019
Zhengzhou, Henan, China
11th Rare Earth Summit
May 9-10, 2019
Qingdao, Shandong, China
8th Magnesium Summit
April 11-12, 2019
Zhuhai, Guangdong, China
12th World InBiGeGa Forum
March 14-15, 2019
Zhuhai, Guangdong, China
6th World Manganese & Selenium Forum
May 21-22, 2018
Hainan Sanya, China
Interview with Hu Guangqiang, General Manager of Changsha Xinhao Imp & Exp Trading Co., Ltd
Changsha Xinhao Imp & Exp Trading Co., Ltd was established in 2006. After 4 years striving, our company gradually developed into an integrated enterprise of manganese ore mining, manganese flakes producing, manganese briquette, nitrided manganese and dehydrogenation manganese flake aluminum alloys additives processing. Its annual production capacity manganese ore is 100,000mtpy, manganese flake 10,000mtpm, manganese briquette 12,000mtpm, nitrided manganese 2,000mtpm. Now our company is financing to build a Hydropower Station to obtain a favorable position in the market competition in future....
Hu Guangqiang: Manganese flake market trend optimistic with price increasing continuously
----Interview with Hu Guangqiang, General Manager of Changsha Xinhao Imp & Exp Trading Co., Ltd
Asian Metal: Firstly, thank you for accepting our interview and your support to Asian Metal. Could you give us an overall introduction to market condition of Manganese flake and Manganese briquette of this year?
Hu: Thanks.
In first half of this year, price fluctuation margin of Manganese flake is not so big, but in the second half, price was all the way up, breakthrough many estimated price levels, and reached RMB18000.
At the beginning of this year, we ever estimated that the price could hardly surpass RMB16000, but now the price is far higher than what we estimated. It is driven by the cost, and the purchase from customers is not so brisk. Speculation could not be excluded. Supply of Manganese ore will still be tense in this November and December, so there is not much possibility of price going down.
Asian Metal: EMM is the main raw material for Manganese briquette. Let's talk about EMM firstly. China is the largest producing country in the world, could you make a comment on supply and demand, production capacity and produced quantity of EMM.
Hu: Production capacity of EMM is more than demand, partly, there are still factors for price increase in the market, tense raw materials supply, Environmental Inspections, power save policy etc, which cause EMM price always in fluctuation, hardly could be kept stable. This is different from Si-Mn and Fe-Mn.
Demand from domestic market is mainly from some privately-owned stainless steel plants, which are in Ningbo, Wenzhou and Dainan in Jiangsu Province with mainly producing 200 series stainless steel. Foreign demand is mainly from specialty steel plants.
Asian Metal: EMM market is undulating this year, especially in the 2nd half of the year. What are the reasons that drove the price to increase?
Hu: The chief reason is environmental inspections, which lead to shutdown and production cut of EMM plants, price increase of manganese ore, sulferic acid, selenium dioxide, also drove the price increase of EMM price.
Rectification is intense in manganese ore regions, some Manganese ore mines have been shutdown, or closed, EMM plants bought Manganese ore panically, which drove the price increase of manganese ore, some plants could hardly find enough manganese supply for their production, had to shutdown and cut, supply of EMM was decreasing. What's more, Energy Saving Policy also waves the price ups of EMM.
Asian Metal: What is the current price of EMM and manganese briquette?
Hu: price of EMM goes up very quickly, EXW price is 18500 these days, the prices are different in different regions. Exporting price of manganese briquette is about USD2970/mt FOB Shenzhen.
Asian Metal: Please let me know the cost for producing 1mt EMM. What is the appropriate price of EMM ex works price?
Hu: Now production cost of EMM is rather high. When profit margin of EMM is big enough, more plants will be opened and the surplus supply pulls down the price. I could not tell which price is appropriate, and if you only take cost into consideration, sometimes manganese flake price is below the cost. Price chosen by the market is appropriate.
Asian Metal: NDRC abolished 5% tax rebate of manganese briquette from on July 15th, 2010. What effect of implementation of this policy on manganese briquette exportation?
Hu: In fact, the impact is obvious, for customers were not accustomed to it at first and recovered after a time. To manganese briquette plants, profit margin shrank, while complaint came more often from customers. US dollars depreciation that followed, also have negative impact on exporting of manganese briquette.
Asian Metal: Now Energy Saving Policy is still in implementation, brownouts are taking in provinces in varying degrees. This may lead to EMM plants in some regions production cut, what do you comment on this?
Hu: For Energy saving is a trend, we always support industrial policies of our country. As an EMM plant, what we consider is how we could adjust to this market situation and how we could save energy, after all, survival and development of enterprise is the most important of all.
Asian Metal: Although tax rebate being abolished, but comparing to EMM unwrought manganese, there is still an custom duty gap of 20%, some consumers are anxious about government will impose export tariffs on manganese briquette, they still do not purchase manganese briquette to replace EMM, what's your comments?
Hu: This is concerned with production technics, I think that what consumers do not worry that government will impose export tariffs on manganese briquette and they do not purchase them. Manganese lump has export tariffs, why some consumers are still use them. Production technics decide which products should be taken. After all, in stainless steel production, cost of manganese takes only a very small part.
Besides, this may be concerned with technical dept. of melting plants, for some are more opened and dare to try, but some are a little conservative.
Asian Metal: from the Customs data, using of Manganese briquette abroad are increasing all the way, but export quantity of EMM is decreasing all the way, what's your comments on this?
Hu: Manganese briquette has its own advantages and weak points. Comparatively low price leads to increased market share. In fact, price of EMM and manganese briquette are drawing closer gradually, if manganese briquette could overcome its weak points of technics, life cycle could be prolonged. An example, manganese lump is more expensive than EMM, but there is still demand for them, because recovery rate of manganese lump are higher than Manganese flake.
Asian Metal: Could you estimate market prospects of manganese flake and manganese briquette?
Hu: The demand for manganese flake and manganese briquette in domestic market keeps strong. If manganese briquette could not overcome its own weak points, its life cycle should be short. If it could overcome its weak points, life cycle of it could be very long, just as manganese lumps. As its production technics are wrought, more energy saving than manganese lumps, which is in accordance with energy saving policy.
While resource of carbonate manganese ore is decreasing gradually, EMM industry has to transfer to new raw materials, and many plants have started exploration in this aspect. With the request on environment protection boosting gradually, EMM industry has to invest more on environment protection aspect and has to be more self-discipline, thus could survive in the competition in the future.
Hu: Thanks.
In first half of this year, price fluctuation margin of Manganese flake is not so big, but in the second half, price was all the way up, breakthrough many estimated price levels, and reached RMB18000.
At the beginning of this year, we ever estimated that the price could hardly surpass RMB16000, but now the price is far higher than what we estimated. It is driven by the cost, and the purchase from customers is not so brisk. Speculation could not be excluded. Supply of Manganese ore will still be tense in this November and December, so there is not much possibility of price going down.
Asian Metal: EMM is the main raw material for Manganese briquette. Let's talk about EMM firstly. China is the largest producing country in the world, could you make a comment on supply and demand, production capacity and produced quantity of EMM.
Hu: Production capacity of EMM is more than demand, partly, there are still factors for price increase in the market, tense raw materials supply, Environmental Inspections, power save policy etc, which cause EMM price always in fluctuation, hardly could be kept stable. This is different from Si-Mn and Fe-Mn.
Demand from domestic market is mainly from some privately-owned stainless steel plants, which are in Ningbo, Wenzhou and Dainan in Jiangsu Province with mainly producing 200 series stainless steel. Foreign demand is mainly from specialty steel plants.
Asian Metal: EMM market is undulating this year, especially in the 2nd half of the year. What are the reasons that drove the price to increase?
Hu: The chief reason is environmental inspections, which lead to shutdown and production cut of EMM plants, price increase of manganese ore, sulferic acid, selenium dioxide, also drove the price increase of EMM price.
Rectification is intense in manganese ore regions, some Manganese ore mines have been shutdown, or closed, EMM plants bought Manganese ore panically, which drove the price increase of manganese ore, some plants could hardly find enough manganese supply for their production, had to shutdown and cut, supply of EMM was decreasing. What's more, Energy Saving Policy also waves the price ups of EMM.
Asian Metal: What is the current price of EMM and manganese briquette?
Hu: price of EMM goes up very quickly, EXW price is 18500 these days, the prices are different in different regions. Exporting price of manganese briquette is about USD2970/mt FOB Shenzhen.
Asian Metal: Please let me know the cost for producing 1mt EMM. What is the appropriate price of EMM ex works price?
Hu: Now production cost of EMM is rather high. When profit margin of EMM is big enough, more plants will be opened and the surplus supply pulls down the price. I could not tell which price is appropriate, and if you only take cost into consideration, sometimes manganese flake price is below the cost. Price chosen by the market is appropriate.
Asian Metal: NDRC abolished 5% tax rebate of manganese briquette from on July 15th, 2010. What effect of implementation of this policy on manganese briquette exportation?
Hu: In fact, the impact is obvious, for customers were not accustomed to it at first and recovered after a time. To manganese briquette plants, profit margin shrank, while complaint came more often from customers. US dollars depreciation that followed, also have negative impact on exporting of manganese briquette.
Asian Metal: Now Energy Saving Policy is still in implementation, brownouts are taking in provinces in varying degrees. This may lead to EMM plants in some regions production cut, what do you comment on this?
Hu: For Energy saving is a trend, we always support industrial policies of our country. As an EMM plant, what we consider is how we could adjust to this market situation and how we could save energy, after all, survival and development of enterprise is the most important of all.
Asian Metal: Although tax rebate being abolished, but comparing to EMM unwrought manganese, there is still an custom duty gap of 20%, some consumers are anxious about government will impose export tariffs on manganese briquette, they still do not purchase manganese briquette to replace EMM, what's your comments?
Hu: This is concerned with production technics, I think that what consumers do not worry that government will impose export tariffs on manganese briquette and they do not purchase them. Manganese lump has export tariffs, why some consumers are still use them. Production technics decide which products should be taken. After all, in stainless steel production, cost of manganese takes only a very small part.
Besides, this may be concerned with technical dept. of melting plants, for some are more opened and dare to try, but some are a little conservative.
Asian Metal: from the Customs data, using of Manganese briquette abroad are increasing all the way, but export quantity of EMM is decreasing all the way, what's your comments on this?
Hu: Manganese briquette has its own advantages and weak points. Comparatively low price leads to increased market share. In fact, price of EMM and manganese briquette are drawing closer gradually, if manganese briquette could overcome its weak points of technics, life cycle could be prolonged. An example, manganese lump is more expensive than EMM, but there is still demand for them, because recovery rate of manganese lump are higher than Manganese flake.
Asian Metal: Could you estimate market prospects of manganese flake and manganese briquette?
Hu: The demand for manganese flake and manganese briquette in domestic market keeps strong. If manganese briquette could not overcome its own weak points, its life cycle should be short. If it could overcome its weak points, life cycle of it could be very long, just as manganese lumps. As its production technics are wrought, more energy saving than manganese lumps, which is in accordance with energy saving policy.
While resource of carbonate manganese ore is decreasing gradually, EMM industry has to transfer to new raw materials, and many plants have started exploration in this aspect. With the request on environment protection boosting gradually, EMM industry has to invest more on environment protection aspect and has to be more self-discipline, thus could survive in the competition in the future.