The international titanium dioxide giant Kronos (Kronos) announced that it will increase the price of titanium dioxide products from June. This is the second price increase by an overseas titanium dioxide giant in less than half a year. On the other hand, starting from June 19, Vietnam will increase the export tariff of some mineral products by 10%. At that time, the export tariff of titanium ore will be adjusted from 30% to 40%. Analysts pointed out that domestic titanium dioxide, which has undergone a round of in-depth adjustments, has a price advantage due to factors such as overseas price increases and titanium ore export tariff increases.Connors recently announced that starting from June 1, 2013, the prices of all titanium dioxide products sold in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa will be raised. 10 cents/lb; $250/ton increase in Eastern Europe, North America and outside Europe. At present, the price of domestic titanium dioxide is between 14,000 and 17,000 yuan/ton, and the international price is between 4,000 and 4,400 US dollars/ton. The price of Connox’s domestic coating grade titanium dioxide is roughly 21,000 yuan/ton.Prior to this, in March, Connors, Huntsman, Coster, and Shiyuan had collectively raised their prices by about 10%, or US$250 to US$300 per ton.According to news from Vietnam, starting from June 19, Vietnam will increase the export tariff on some mineral products by 10%. At that time, the export tariff on titanium ore will be raised from 30% to 40%. Previously, Vietnam's ban on the export of titanium ore had led to an increase in the price of titanium concentrate, which in turn drove up the price of titanium dioxide.Industry insiders pointed out that an important factor for Connors' price increase is the strong recovery of the U.S. real estate market in the past year, the sharp increase in demand for paints and coatings, and the direct benefit of upstream titanium dioxide. The National Association of Realtors report shows that housing starts in 2012 will increase by nearly 22% compared with 2011. Although China's real estate investment has shrunk in the short term, overall, China's infrastructure construction will continue to maintain relatively high growth in the future, and the demand for titanium dioxide will continue to improve in the long run.According to industry insiders, although the domestic titanium dioxide market had experienced a phenomenon of international price increases and domestic declines in the early stage, with the sound of foreign price increases, for example, DuPont also raised the price of titanium dioxide by 200 to 500 yuan/ton since May 1. The depression in the price of titanium dioxide may be filled soon, and the possibility that the price will fluctuate and rise after May cannot be ruled out.Yang Xun, a titanium dioxide analyst at SunSirs, told reporters that the current price of domestic titanium dioxide at 14,000 to 17,000 yuan/ton is already close to the cost line of most manufacturers, and only some large enterprises can maintain operations. Another industry insider believes that keeping in line with the international 10% price increase means that there is room for profit improvement. At present, the growth of downstream real estate, papermaking and other industries is slowing down. Titanium dioxide is generally in the bottoming stage, but supported by costs, it is expected that there is not much room for further downward trend.