Asian consumers and traders of silica sand will find restrictions on certain sources of material from March 2007 as Chinese and Indonesian authorities are to implement bans on silica sand exports.
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Asian consumers and traders of silica sand will find restrictions on certain sources of material from March 2007 as Chinese and Indonesian authorities are to implement bans on silica sand exports. The Chinese government has announced that it will resume a ban on the export of silica sand and quartz sand with effect from 1 March 2007, with “separate arrangements” for exports to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Macao area. The Ministry of Commerce first announced that it would implement the ban in April 2006, to take effect 1 May 2006 in a move to “protect the non-renewable resources and the environment, and control the severe damage caused by exploration of natural sand resources”. The ban was later postponed to allow companies more time to set up new channels of operation. The ban is likely to increase demand for silica sand in other regions. In neighbouring Vietnam, producers of silica sand, mainly mined in the central coastal region, have seen a rise in demand from consumers ahead of the new restrictions. A leading glass producer based in Ho Chi Minh City said: “We can expect that this resumption of the export ban in China could help to further boost the export of silica sand from Vietnam as an alternative source for Korea, and Japan importers of silica sand for glass production from 2007 onward”. It is estimated there are about 60 silica sand mines in China with annual capacities ranging from 20- 30,000 tonnes up to over 300,000 tonnes. Major producers include the Sibelco Anhui operations, SinoSi Silica Mine, Resources, Hainan Wen Chang CSG Silica Sand Mine and Hainan Scar-Silica. While demand for silica sand from an expanding Chinese domestic market (especially float glass in Henan, Hebei and Jiangsu) has to some extent overtaken demand from exports, the export market is still believed to be a significant portion of these companies“ businesses. However, for overseas competitors that have been fighting against lower priced imports from China, the ban will come as welcome news. China is not the only Asian country restricting silica sand exports: Indonesia has apparently banned all exports of silica sand to Singapore, the largest importer of Indonesian sand for construction. In response, Singapore is to fix the price of sand used in the construction industry to curb any inflationary pressures as importers have to switch to alternative sources. The official reason for the ban is environmental concerns, but some believe that there is a political motive. A Singapore newspaper reported that it had been told that the ban was due to a difference over an extradition treaty.