The import volume of abrasives products in the first half of 2022 was US$110 million, down 4.5% year-on-year. Among them, the import volume of brown corundum fell 81.43% year-on-year, and the import value rose 14.02% year-on-year; the import volume of other artificial corundum (mainly white corundum) fell 27.82% year-on-year, and the import value fell 23.23% year-on-year; the import volume of silicon carbide rose 420.51% year-on-year, and the import value increased 52.87% year-on-year; the import volume of abrasives fell 3.55% year-on-year, and the import value fell 5.33%.
Comparing Table 1 and Table 2, we can see that China, as a large producer of abrasives, exports are 13 times more than imports, which is a very significant trade surplus, because the import volume is smaller, so the fluctuations of various products also appear to be more drastic. It is noteworthy that compared with the average price of exports and imports, the average price of imports of all kinds of products is higher than exports, which also indicates that most of the imported products are high-grade products, further reflecting that China's abrasives industry is still in a large but not strong state, and some high-grade products rely on imports.
In terms of the proportion of imports of the four main product categories, the main import destinations for all types of products are developed economies such as Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea, with the exception of silicon carbide, which is basically the same as the ranking of import regions in 2021, and also confirms from the side that imports are basically high-grade products. The restart of smelting of black silicon carbide in the region of North Korea has led to a significant increase in imports of silicon carbide.
According to forecasts from various parties, signs of recession in Europe and the United States will become more apparent in the second half of 2022, and there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to whether the export rebound presented in June will be sustained. More than 30% of the industry's products are used for export, so we hope that companies can plan ahead and adhere to stability as a priority to maintain healthy development.