China's ink has become the fourth largest ink producer in the world

China has now become the fourth largest ink producing country in the world (the United States, Japan and Germany are the first, second and third places respectively). In 2000, the ink production was approximately 207,000 tons. In 2000, the output value of the ink industry increased by 12.2% over 1999. Revenue increased by 17.2%, total profit increased by 55%, and total loss decreased by 23.3%. The per-capita sales of the industry were 213,200.

At present, there are more than 300 ink industry enterprises in the country, among which there are 6 manufacturers with an annual output of more than 5,000 tons. The structure of domestic ink companies is mainly composed of three groups: state-owned enterprises that are changing, multinational companies that have established wholly-owned and joint ventures in China, and a large number of joint-stock or private companies that are developing and changing rapidly. However, judging from the overall competition situation, these enterprises are still in a situation of free, irregular competition as the main body. Up to now, no enterprise has produced and sold 10% of its total output. As a result, the market structure has not yet stabilized. This has left room for domestic ink production companies of all kinds to develop.

In the current ink production, in addition to the continuous increase in volume, the variety and quality are also constantly increasing and improving. Although the overall level is still quite different from that in North America, Europe, and Japan, it is already relatively high in developing countries. The self-sufficiency rate of the location, especially the medium and high-end varieties, is constantly rising. From January to July 2001, imported inks (mainly premium and special function inks) decreased by 15%.

Among the domestic ink production enterprises, some factories already have the technological level in the early and mid 1980s. The most advanced production equipment already has the early and mid-90s levels. But overall. China's ink industry is still lagging behind in technology and equipment, especially weak technical strength, lack of systematic research and development investment and technical strength, especially in the special ink (including UV, EB curing ink, inkjet) and so on.