In the European domestic market, however, the cost support from increasing freight charges kept the valuation of imported volumes high, and the average CFR NWE discussions were assessed at USD 3800 per tonne in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Regulatory action

The prices in India settled at 2888 USD/MT in September, indicating a decrease. Throughout the quarter, demand in India varied in a limited range, particularly in the latter half of September as a result of the second round of lockdown in numerous sections of the nation.

A few non-dietary studies have reported adverse effects in the gastrointestinal tract of laboratory animals given food-grade TiO₂. However, these same effects were not seen when the same or higher doses of food-grade TiO₂ were administered in the animals' diet. Dietary studies best reflect how humans are exposed to TiO₂ from food. Thus, the Food Directorate placed the most emphasis on the results of these studies in the state of the science report.

The North American region suffered from the excess influx of material in the market, especially from the Asian countries, in the first half of the third quarter. The quarter, however, showed signs of significant improvement with a rise in the number of offtakes. Further, the lack of labor in the US challenged the rates of production of titanium dioxide and resulted in the depletion in the level of existing inventories, pushing the titanium dioxide price graph in an upward direction.

CSPI says it might reconsider its rating if specifications for food-grade titanium dioxide in the U.S. are updated to ensure nanoparticles are minimized, and new studies are conducted to assess its capacity to cause cancer or other health problems.