Since the beginning of this year, China's ink production has started well and the increase in output has been large. In January, the output (above-scale enterprises, the same below) reached 13,000 tons, an increase of 14.8% year-on-year; the cumulative output in January-February reached 27,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 23.5%. It is expected that the annual output may reach 185,000 tons. Experts predict that this year will be another year after the rapid development of the ink industry.
Last year, China's ink production maintained a good growth trend, with output reaching 179,900 tons, an increase of 9.1% over the previous year, setting a record high. Last year, the balance of production was stable, especially after entering the second quarter, the output increased steadily, and the growth rate remained at a relatively high level. Monthly output for the nine consecutive months beginning in April was maintained at more than 13,600 tons.
At present, there are more than 300 ink production enterprises in China, among which there are 9 companies with output of more than 5000 tons in 2002 and 3 companies with more than 10,000 tons.
In recent years, the development of ink production in China has been relatively fast. In 1995, the output was 106,900 tons. In 2000, it increased to 134,200 tons. The average annual growth rate during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period was 4.7%. In 2002, China’s ink production increased by 27.4% from 2000, and the average annual growth rate of the previous two years of the “Ninth Five-Year Plan†reached 12.9%.
China currently has a total annual production capacity of printing inks of about 250,000 tons. In recent years, with the rapid development of China's economic construction and printing technology, ink production has changed greatly in quantity, variety, and quality. In particular, high-end varieties such as color inks and flexible printing inks have grown rapidly. China's ink production accounts for about 6% of the world's total ink production, and it has become the fourth largest ink producer in the world (after the United States, Japan, and Germany). In addition to basically satisfying domestic needs, some products are exported to Eastern Europe, the United States, and the United States. Southeast Asia and other places in more than 50 countries and regions. The quality of some of our major ink products has approached or reached the advanced level of similar foreign products. Although the overall level of China's ink production is still quite different from that in North America, Europe, and Japan, it is already in a relatively advanced position in developing countries. In particular, the self-sufficiency rate of middle-to-high-end varieties is rising.
The steady growth of China’s economy and the rapid development of cultural undertakings will increase the demand for ink in the domestic market. The demand for ink in the domestic market will increase at a rate of 9% per annum in the near future.