Copper processing industry faces four major problems

(1) The industry structure needs to be improved, and the products fail to meet the market demand in the high-tech field

The large number and small scale of China’s copper processing enterprises result in a lack of effective regulation and self-discipline within the industry, resulting in overcapacity and fierce competition for common products in my country’s industry, but high-end products still rely on imports.

The high-end attributes of imported products are mainly manifested in two aspects: one is the high processing precision, and the other is that the material cannot be produced in China due to the limitation of patented technology. Therefore, the industrial policy of China’s copper processing industry encourages the development of new products and new materials, fundamentally solves the problems of materials and processes, improves the product structure of the industry, and meets the needs of high-tech fields such as aerospace, national defense and military industry, and electronic information industry. The need for deep processing products.

(2) The overall R&D strength of the industry needs to be strengthened

The domestic copper processing industry has achieved certain results in the fields of high-strength and high-conductivity copper alloys, environmentally friendly copper alloys, and high-efficiency heat pipes, and has become the main advantageous variety of copper alloy rod exports. However, in functional copper alloys, copper-based composite materials and other new materials The gap between the cutting-edge research fields of China and the international mainstream manufacturers is still obvious.

(3) The industry concentration needs to be improved, and a world-class copper processing leading enterprise has not yet been formed

According to statistics, there are tens of thousands of copper processing enterprises in China, but so far none of them can compete with the world’s advanced enterprises in the same industry in terms of comprehensive strength, and there is a big gap in terms of production scale, management level and financial strength. In recent years, the high price of copper has increased the liquidity pressure and operating costs of enterprises in the industry.

(4) The low-cost advantage is gradually being lost and is facing fierce competition

Compared with similar products in other countries, thanks to lower labor costs, energy costs and investment costs, my country’s copper processing products have the advantage of low cost. However, these competitive advantages of my country’s copper processing enterprises are gradually being lost. On the one hand, labor costs and energy costs have gradually increased; on the other hand, since the copper processing industry is a capital-intensive industry, the upgrading of equipment and technology, and the continuous increase in R&D investment have compressed labor costs and energy costs in production costs. proportion.

Therefore, the low-cost advantage of China’s copper processing industry will gradually be lost. Facing the competition of international enterprises in the same industry, my country’s copper processing enterprises have not yet established their advantages in research and development, production scale, product structure, etc. During this period, the field of ordinary and low-end copper processing products will face fierce competition.

The development prospect of copper processing industry

1. The policy is favorable for the development of the copper processing industry

The copper processing industry is an industry encouraged to develop in my country and is strongly supported by national policies. The State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and industry associations have successively formulated a number of policies such as the “Guiding Opinions on Creating a Good Market Environment to Promote the Non-ferrous Metals Industry to Adjust Structure, Promote Transformation and Increase Benefit” to support the stable development of the copper processing industry and encourage copper processing products. The structural optimization provides the most direct policy guarantee for the development of enterprises in the industry, and the development prospect of the copper processing industry is bright.

2. The sustained and stable development of the national economy drives the continuous growth of the scale of the copper processing industry

Copper is an important industrial metal, and its consumption is closely related to economic growth. In recent years, copper consumption has grown steadily with GDP growth. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in the first three quarters of 2021, the gross domestic product is 82,313.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.8% at comparable prices, and an average two-year growth of 5.2%. China’s high-quality economic development is resilient. It is expected that with the development of strategic emerging industries such as the new generation of electronic information industry, new energy vehicles, high-end equipment manufacturing, energy conservation and environmental protection, copper consumption demand will maintain a certain growth, driving the continuous growth of the copper processing industry.

3. The advancement of copper processing technology promotes the rise of domestic copper products

In recent years, the technical level of my country’s copper processing enterprises has been continuously improved. At present, the equipment and production technology of domestic first-class enterprises have approached the international leading level. Among copper processing materials, copper pipes have been converted from net import to net export, and other copper products have also begun to replace high-end imported products with domestic ones. In the future, the continuous improvement of the technical level of the copper processing industry will promote enterprises in the industry to develop more precise copper processing materials, expand the international market, and obtain higher profit levels.

4. The self-sufficiency rate of domestic recycled copper has been increased to promote the sustainable development of the copper processing industry

In recent years, domestic scrap copper has shown an increasing trend, and the concentration of recycled copper smelting industry has gradually increased. The Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Bohai Rim Economic Circle have gradually formed recycled copper industrial clusters, and established a number of domestic recycling trading markets. In the context of the increasing domestic copper scrap, the self-sufficiency rate of secondary copper in my country will be further improved in the future, promoting the sustainable development of the copper processing industry.