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China and the United States are the leading exporters of Sodium tripolyphosphate, accounting for a substantial share of global shipments, while Vietnam, Mexico, and India represent the largest importers in recent years. Imports into Southeast Asia and Latin America have expanded steadily since 2022, coinciding with moderate upward pressure on Sodium tripolyphosphate prices amid tightening supply from key manufacturing hubs.
Sodium Tripolyphosphate (STPP) Recent Market Intelligence Report
I. Market Price Dynamics
| Date | Trader/Brand/Origin | Delivery Location | Specification | Latest Quotation (RMB/ton) |
|------------|------------------|------------------|------------|-------------------|
| 2026-07-28 | Changzhou Jiaye Chemical Co., Ltd. | Jiangsu Province / Changzhou City | Industrial Grade, 95% purity | 9,500 |
| 2026-07-28 | Chizhou Xinyu Chemical Co., Ltd. | Anhui Province / Chizhou City | Industrial Grade, 95% purity | 8,800 |
| 2026-07-28 | Shanghai Shijian Industrial Co., Ltd. | Shanghai Municipality | Industrial Grade, 95% purity | 9,000 |
| 2026-07-28 | Hubei Qiangxing Chemical Co., Ltd. | Sichuan Province / Chengdu City | Food Grade, 95% purity | 10,500 |
| 2026-07-27 | Guangzhou Tianyue Chemical Co., Ltd. | Guangdong Province / Guangzhou City | Industrial Grade, 95% purity | 7,800 |
| 2026-07-27 | Jinan Jinrihe Chemical Co., Ltd. | Shandong Province / Jinan City | Food Grade, 95% purity | 7,300 |
| 2026-07-27 | Shandong Zhihengda Import & Export Co., Ltd. | Shandong Province | Industrial Grade, 94% purity | 6,900 |
| 2026-07-27 | Hubei Qiqiba Chemical Co., Ltd. | Hubei Province / Wuhan City | Industrial Grade, 90% purity | 6,500 |
II. Market Supply and Demand Situation
1. Supply Side:
- Capacity and Output: In recent years, China’s STPP industry capacity has contracted. Total capacity stood at 1.065 million tons/year in 2024, down 13.9% year-on-year. Output likewise declined, falling from 777,000 tons in 2020 to 463,000 tons in 2024.
- Operating Rate: Industry-wide operating rate remains low, averaging 43.47% in 2024, reflecting subdued production enthusiasm among enterprises.
- Regional Distribution: Major production capacity is concentrated in Sichuan, Guizhou, Liaoning, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Hebei, and Hubei provinces—with Sichuan holding the largest share.
2. Demand Side:
- Traditional Markets: Demand for industrial-grade STPP from the detergent industry has significantly weakened due to the ongoing “phosphate-free” trend; demand from the ceramics industry also remains sluggish.
- Emerging Markets: Demand from the food processing sector exhibits strong resilience and has emerged as a new growth driver. Additionally, demand is growing steadily in industrial water treatment, oilfield operations, and high-end ceramics.
- Import/Export Trends: China’s STPP exports have remained robust in recent years, while imports are minimal. In 2025, export volume reached 222,000 tons, up 3.7% year-on-year; import volume was only 1,500 tons, down 60.5% year-on-year.
III. Key Factors Influencing Market Prices
1. Cost Structure: Yellow phosphorus prices continue declining; thermal-process phosphoric acid prices follow suit, with frequent low-price transactions observed—significantly weakening cost support for STPP.
2. Downstream Performance: Overall downstream demand remains weak but stable, offering limited upward price momentum for STPP.
3. Policy Environment: Increasingly stringent environmental regulations are accelerating industry transformation toward green, low-carbon development, exerting pressure on small- and medium-sized producers with high energy consumption and high pollution emissions—thus facilitating industry consolidation and price stabilization.
IV. Analysis and Outlook
1. Short-Term Analysis:
- Price Trend: With weakening cost support and muted downstream demand, STPP prices are expected to remain weak but stable in the near term.
- Supply-Demand Balance: On the supply side, capacity contraction and low operating rates persist; on the demand side, traditional markets remain sluggish while emerging sectors show growth—resulting in a relatively balanced overall supply-demand relationship and limited price volatility.
2. Medium- to Long-Term Outlook:
- Demand Growth: Rising demand from food processing, industrial water treatment, oilfield applications, and high-end ceramics is expected to sustain steady growth in STPP market demand.
- Capacity Structure Optimization: Industry concentration will further increase, with large-scale integrated enterprises possessing vertically aligned “phosphate rock → phosphoric acid → phosphate salt” value chains dominating the market landscape.
- Price Trend: Under combined influence of improving cost support and expanding downstream demand, STPP prices are projected to exhibit moderate upward momentum over the medium to long term.
Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) is a white, crystalline, odorless solid that is highly soluble in water and non-volatile; it decomposes before melting, typically above 620 °C. It is an inorganic sodium salt of polyphosphoric acid and belongs to the class of condensed phosphates. STPP is primarily used as a water-softening agent and builder in household and industrial detergent formulations, enhancing cleaning efficiency by sequestering calcium and magnesium ions. It also serves as a food additive (E451) for moisture retention and texture stabilization in processed meats and seafood, and finds application in water treatment, ceramics, and metal surface treatment. Its principal end-use sectors include detergents, food processing, and water conditioning.
1. Sodium tripolyphosphate is used for meat processing, synthetic detergent formulations, textile dyeing, also used as dispersing agent, solvent etc.2. It is used as soft water, also used in confectionery industry.3. It is used as power stations, locomotive vehicle, boiler and a fertilizer plant cooling water treatment, water softener. It has strong ability to Ca2+ collaterals, per 100g to complex 19.5g calcium , and because SHMP chelation and adsorption dispersion destroyed the normal process of calcium phosphate crystal growth, it prevents the formation of calcium phosphate scale. Dosage is 0.5 mg/L, prevent that scaling rate is up to 95%~100%.4. Modifier; emulsifier; buffer; chelating agent; stabilizer. Mainly for canned ham tenderization; canned broad beans in the Yuba softening. Can also be used as soft water, pH regulator and thickening agent.5. It is used for synergist for soap and preventing bar soap grease precipitation and bloom. It has strong emulsification of lubricating oil and fat. It can be used for adjusting the value of pH of buffer liquid soap. Industrial water softener. Pre tanning agent. Dyeing auxiliaries. Paint, kaolin, magnesium oxide, calcium carbonate, such as industrial in the preparation of suspensions of dispersant. Drilling mud dispersant. In paper industry used as anti oil agents.6. Sodium tripolyphosphate is used for detergents. As additives, synergist for soap and preventing bar soap crystallization and bloom, industrial water soft water, pre tanning agent, dyeing auxiliaries, well digging mud control agent, paper with oil on preventing agent, paint, kaolin, magnesium oxide, calcium carbonate, such as hanging floating fluid treatment effective dispersant. Food grade sodium tripolyphosphate as a variety of meat products, food improver, the clarification of the beverage additives.7. Quality improver to improve food complexed metal ions, pH value, increasing ionic strength, thereby improving food focus and water holding capacity. Provision of China can be used for dairy products, fish products, poultry products, ice cream and instant noodles, maximum dose is 5.0g/kg; in canned, maximum use juice (taste) beverages and vegetable protein beverage is 1.0g/kg.
Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) is a white powder, soluble in water, its water solution is alkaline. It is a crystalline inorganic salt that can exist in two anhydrous crystalline forms (phase I and phase II) or a hydrous form (Na5P3O10 . 6H2O). STPP is used in a large variety of household cleaning products, mainly as a builder, but also in human foodstuffs, animal feeds, industrial cleaning processes and ceramics manufacture.
This chemical is included in Fine Chemicals. See more about what is Sodium tripolyphosphate and Sodium tripolyphosphate SDS information.
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