Nitric acid is an important chemical raw material. It is a strong acid with strong oxidation and causticity, and can be used to make chemical fertilizers, pesticides, explosives, dyes, salts and so on.

The consumption of nitric acid in China is mainly used in chemical industry, metallurgical industry and pharmaceutical industry, accounting for 69%, 14% and 5.5% respectively in the total consumption of the concentrated nitric acid.

At present, China's nitric acid production is mainly concentrated in East China, accounting for more than half of the national concentrated nitric acid production. In the past five years, China's production of concentrated nitric acid fluctuated slightly. In 2017, China's concentrated nitric acid production was 2.685 million tons, up by 3.6 percent year-on-year, while in 2018 the total output was 2.569 million tons, decreasing by 4.3%.

The nitric acid in China is still dependent import from other countries. Before 2016, China’s nitric acid import showed a decreasing trend, with the structural reform on the supply, China’s nitric acid import increased steadily. In 2017, it rose sharply to 131,300 MT, seeing a 259.7% increase year on year. On the aspects of the export, the nitric acid export from China showed a steady increase in the past five years.

(Data Source: China Customs)

China’s nitric acid is mainly imported from South Korea, Taipei (China), and Japan, accounting for 80.3%, 6.9% and 5.5% respectively in China’s nitric acid import value in 2018.

(Data Source: ITC)

The major export markets of China’s nitric acid include Taipei (China), Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand, which account for more than 90% of China’s nitric acid export value in 2018. 

(Data Source: ITC)