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In the soda ash industry, where supply exceeds demand and homogeneous competition is intensifying, how can it achieve a transition from price-based competition to one focused on value creation? Yu Wenyi, Marketing Director of Zhongyan Changzhou Chemical Co., Ltd., suggests that technological advancements should be used to drive green manufacturing, energy savings and carbon reduction should help create green benchmarks, ecological approaches should foster collaborative success, and a global strategy should be employed to promote Chinese solutions. Changes in the supply and demand balance put pressure on the industry. In 2025, the soda ash market continued to be characterized by an oversupply, weak demand, and downward pressure on prices. Weak downstream demand, coupled with the release of new production capacity, has kept industry inventories at high levels, leaving the market in a phase of cyclical adjustment. Supply-side growth continues. In 2024, the total domestic production capacity of soda ash exceeded 40 million tons ； In the first three quarters of this year, the production of soda ash was 28.639 million tons, an increase of 4.931 million tons compared to the previous year, with an average daily production of 104,500 tons. Since the beginning of this year, the new production capacity of soda ash in China has exceeded 2 million tons, and another 3.5 million tons of new capacity is set to enter the market in the near future. Furthermore, the share of capacity in China’s natural alkali industry is moving toward 30%. There is insufficient momentum on the demand side. The main downstream application of soda ash is float glass, whose demand accounts for 35% to 40% of the total demand for soda ash. The main application area for float glass is the real estate construction sector. In the first half of the year, the area of new housing starts declined on a year-on-year basis, resulting in insufficient momentum for demand for soda ash in this sector. Another important downstream application for photovoltaic glass is accounting for 10%–15% of the total demand for soda ash; given that the profit margins in this industry are under pressure, its impact on soda ash demand in the short term is also relatively limited. Adjustments in the supply-demand balance are directly reflected in changes in inventory levels. Starting in March 2024, the inventory of soda ash rose steadily from 400,000 tons, reaching a peak of 1.9 million tons; thereafter it remained above 1.4 million tons. After entering 2025, although there were occasional fluctuations, the inventory level stayed within historically high ranges. As of November 27, the total inventory of soda ash manufacturers was 1.409 million tons, while the inventory in delivery warehouses was 583,800 tons. Intensifying homogeneous competition drives the industry to seek ways out. In a scenario of strong supply and weak demand, the issue of product homogenization becomes prominent; some companies resort to price competition, which reduces the overall profit margins in the industry, increasing the pressure to transform and upgrade. The sharp drop in prices has put pressure on industry profits. In October 2021, the price of heavy soda ash reached a historical high of 3,681 yuan per ton (the same unit is used hereafter). In the third quarter of this year, the price index for heavy soda ash in China fluctuated between 1,218.57 and 1,344.29 yuan, while the price index for light soda ash ranged from 1,152.86 to 1,285.71 yuan. In September 2024, profits in the soda ash industry turned negative for the first time; it fell into a loss-making situation again in July 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2024, half of the listed companies reported negative net profits attributable to their owners, and by the second quarter of 2025, 25% of them were still operating at a loss. Natural soda has seen rapid growth thanks to its cost advantages; its share of production capacity rose from 5% in 2022 to 17% by 2025, and its unit cost is much lower than that of the double-soda process and the ammonia-soda process. This absolute cost advantage will enable natural soda to handle future market competition with ease. Yu Yiwen said that as the world’s largest producer and consumer of soda ash, China accounts for over half of the global production capacity. However, the industry has long been trapped in homogeneous competition; the key to breaking this situation lies in achieving technological upgrades and service improvements in order to break the cycle of price cuts and losses, thereby enhancing the overall competitiveness of enterprises. Value-based competition to break the deadlock; a clear path for transformation. \"Competing on lower prices – and in doing so, eventually running out of options.\" ； \"Roll upward, increase value – the more you roll, the greater the future prospects!\" Yu Wenyi emphasized that with technological advancements and increased automation, value-based competition will replace price-based competition as the key to breaking through challenges in the soda ash industry. It is imperative to restructure the value chain and drive industrial upgrading. At present, there is still a shortage in the industry’s production capacity for high-value-added products that meet the demands of high-end fields such as new energy. This requires enterprises to move up the value chain through technological innovation and service upgrades. In terms of technological innovation, the industry is focusing on the development of key technologies such as clean production using the ammonia-alkali process, efficient extraction of natural alkalis, and comprehensive utilization of resources. For example, China Salt Group is committed to building an intelligent production system and exploring circular economy technologies such as \"using industrial waste salt to produce soda ash\" ； Jiangxi Jiuling Lithium Industry has successfully utilized the by-products of lithium extraction from lithium mica to produce soda ash and ammonium sulfate, achieving efficient utilization of resources. In terms of energy conservation and carbon reduction, by implementing energy-saving technological upgrades and promoting the use of equipment such as waste heat recovery, the energy consumption and emission intensity in the soda ash industry are expected to decline significantly. The technological upgrade projects of some leading enterprises are expected to achieve a significant reduction in the comprehensive energy consumption per unit of product, as well as annual carbon emission reductions of tens of thousands of tons. In building industrial ecosystems, companies are shifting from operating independently to collaborating together. Industry leaders such as China Salt Group initiate industry technology seminars, uniting upstream and downstream enterprises as well as research institutions to jointly build a collaborative innovation ecosystem. By developing high-end products such as low-iron soda ash for downstream enterprises like photovoltaic glass, it is possible to effectively expand into differentiated market segments. In terms of global expansion, China’s advanced soda ash production technology is being introduced to the world through the Belt and Road Initiative. For example, Indonesia’s first soda ash project using China’s Hou’s alkali production method (the combined alkali process) has officially commenced operations. This is not only the transfer of mature industrial technologies but also contributes to the diversification and resilience of the global soda ash industry chain. Yu Wenyi said that looking to the future, China’s soda ash industry will build a comprehensive competitive advantage centered on \"technology, brand, and service\" by continuously improving the capacity to produce high-end products, promoting green manufacturing processes, and deepening value chain integration. This will enable it to occupy a more important position in the global market, ultimately achieving a win-win situation in terms of economic and environmental benefits.