Analysis of The Antimony Trioxide Market Status in 2025

Analysis of The Antimony Trioxide Market Status in 2025

In 2025, the global antimony trioxide market exhibits distinct characteristics of "Chinese dominance, structural upgrading, and policy-driven development." The market has achieved growth underpinned by traditional flame retardant demand and driven by the new energy sector. Simultaneously, influenced by resource controls and environmental policies, the industry is undergoing deep consolidation and technological upgrading. The following is an analysis of the antimony trioxide market status in 2025.

I. Global Antimony Trioxide Capacity and Production Pattern: A Supply System Dominated by China
China's demand for antimony trioxide reached 28,000 tons in 2025, accounting for 15.63% of the global total. The "2025-2030 Global and China Antimony Trioxide Industry Market Status Survey and Development Prospect Analysis Report" forecasts an increase to 34,500 tons in 2026, with its share rising to 17.86%.

1. China's Core Capacity Advantage is Significant
China is the core producer of antimony trioxide globally. In 2025, its annual capacity is approximately 180,000 tons, accounting for over 85% of global total capacity. Production remains within the range of 130,000 to 150,000 tons, primarily concentrated in antimony resource-rich regions such as Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou. While countries like Russia and Bolivia have production capacity, their scale is limited and technology lags, making them unable to challenge China's dominant position in the short term. Global antimony trioxide production was approximately 138,000 tons in 2023, with China contributing about 102,000 tons, a share as high as 74%. This dominant pattern continued to solidify in 2025.

2. Industry Concentration Continues to Increase
The industry concentration is accelerating. The production share of the top ten enterprises increased from 52% in 2020 to 68% in 2024, with the top five enterprises holding close to 60% market share. Among them, state-owned enterprises occupy 45% of the market share leveraging capital and technological advantages, while private enterprises dominate the mid-to-low-end market with a 55% share. Leading enterprises have mastered stable production processes for antimony trioxide with purity ≥99.5%. It is estimated that the industry CR5 may rise from the current 45% to over 60% by 2026, further optimizing the market structure.

II. Antimony Trioxide Demand Structure and Consumption Characteristics: Dual Drivers from Traditional and Emerging Fields
The antimony trioxide industry chain includes antimony ore mining, beneficiation, smelting, refining, deep processing, and end-use applications. Antimony concentrate and coke are the starting raw materials of the antimony industry chain. Upstream participants in the antimony trioxide industry chain are mainly enterprises involved in non-ferrous metal mining and processing like antimony concentrate. Midstream entities are producers of antimony compounds and antimony-based materials. Downstream application products mainly include flame retardants, clarifying agents, polyester catalysts, bearings, wheels, lead-acid batteries, etc. Downstream applications of antimony trioxide cover multiple fields including photovoltaics, new energy batteries, communications, military, engineering plastics, rubber, ceramics, petroleum refining, semiconductor components, and more.

1. Traditional Flame Retardant Field Remains Dominant
Antimony trioxide accounts for over 65% of the flame retardant market. China's consumption reached 28,000 tons in 2025 and is projected to increase to 34,500 tons in 2026, with its share rising to 17.86%. Within this, the plastics and rubber sectors account for over 65%. Materials like polyvinyl chloride and polyolefins often add 3%–10% antimony trioxide to meet flame retardant standards. In 2024, China's total domestic consumption of antimony trioxide was approximately 78,000 tons, with 61,000 tons used in flame retardants, accounting for over 78%.

2. Emerging and Niche Fields Contribute Incremental Demand
Antimony trioxide is used as a catalyst in polyester production. China's PET output reached 58 million tons in 2024, with about 30% of production lines using an antimony-containing catalyst system, indirectly driving an annual demand for antimony trioxide of about 12,000 tons. Meanwhile, high-purity (≥99.95%) antimony trioxide is finding expanding applications in emerging fields such as semiconductor packaging and lithium-ion battery separator coatings. Currently, its share in the overall consumption structure is less than 8%, but it is expected to rise to over 15% by 2030.

3. Export Market Shows Structural Divergence
China is the world's largest exporter of antimony trioxide. In 2023, export volume was 69,200 tons, a slight increase of 1.8% year-on-year. Major export destinations include the United States (18.3% share), South Korea (12.7%), and Germany (9.5%). However, export volume fell by 3.7% year-on-year in 2024, affected by uncertainties in the international trade environment and export quota adjustments. Consumption in regions like the EU is constrained by REACH regulations, remaining around 8,000 tons in 2023.

III. Constraints and Policy Impacts on the Antimony Trioxide Industry Development: Resource and Environmental Factors Dual-Driving Transformation

1. Resource Controls Intensify Cost Pressure
China holds 52% of global antimony reserves, but restricted by protective mining policies, the national antimony mining control target was 98,000 tons (metal content) in 2024, a decrease of about 12% compared to 2020. From 2021 to 2025, antimony concentrate prices fluctuated between 45,000 and 82,000 RMB/ton, directly pushing up antimony trioxide production costs. The average cost in 2025 rose by about 18% compared to 2021. The market price in 2025 remained within the range of 65,000 to 85,000 RMB/ton, showing a significant increase from the 45,000–52,000 RMB/ton range in 2024.

2. Environmental Policies Accelerate Industry Restructuring
In 2024, the average environmental investment in the industry accounted for 18%–22% of total operating costs, an increase of nearly 9 percentage points compared to 2020. Environmental expenditure as a share of revenue reached 6.8%, up 2.3 percentage points from 2020. Key regions like Hunan and Guangxi require enterprises to complete environmental upgrades by 2025. Already, 30% of small and medium-sized enterprises have shut down due to non-compliance. The industry CR5 increased by nearly 20 percentage points compared to 2015. The "Clean Production Transformation Plan for Key Heavy Metal Industries" implemented from 2025 tightens emission limits for particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and antimony compounds to 10 mg/m³, 50 mg/m³, and 0.5 mg/m³, respectively.

3. Policies Guide Technology and Industrial Upgrading

The "Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalog (2024 Edition)" encourages advanced antimony smelting projects, restricts outdated processes, and promotes the green transformation of antimony trioxide. In 2024, domestic recycled antimony output accounted for 28.6% of total production, an increase of 9.2 percentage points from 2020. This proportion is expected to exceed 40% by 2030. Local policies are also contributing, for example, Hunan Province supports the establishment of an antimony new materials innovation center to promote high-end applications of antimony trioxide in the new energy sector.

In 2025, the antimony trioxide market exhibits distinct structural characteristics on both the supply and demand sides, with emerging fields opening up long-term incremental space. Although facing challenges such as cost increases due to antimony ore resource controls and rising environmental investment, policy-driven industry consolidation and technological upgrading are propelling the industry towards higher-end and greener transformation.