China’s helium consumption is growing at a double-digit pace, but industrial gas suppliers are facing revenue and margin pressures due to increased volumes of lower cost imported product.
“Even with double-digit volume growth, revenue and margins for industrial gas players are shrinking,” said Tom Deng, President of G-gas, speaking at gasworld’s Helium Super Summit.
China imports around 85% of its helium, with a large percentage coming from Russia. “Russian helium, thanks to its aggressive low-price strategy over the past two years, now makes up 40% of our imports,” Deng noted.
Due to Western trade sanctions, Russian helium has become more accessible to second-tier gas companies in Asia at below-market prices. That wasn’t the original intention of the sanctions, but it’s become an unintended consequence, one that’s reshaping helium trade flows.
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