Valve is the basic component of the pipeline system and occupies a very important position in the machinery industry. It has a wide range of applications. It is a necessary part in the transmission engineering of fluid, liquid and gas. It is also an important mechanical part in nuclear power industry, petrochemical industry, water supply and heating, and civil fields. Global valve industry data in the past three years, the global valve output was 19.5-20 billion sets, and the output value increased steadily. In 2019, the global valve output value was US $64 billion, in 2020, the global valve output value was US $73.2 billion, and in 2021, the global valve output value was US $76 billion. In recent two years, due to global inflation, the valve output value has increased greatly. After deducting inflation, the global valve output value has basically remained at about 3%. It is estimated that by 2025, the global valve output value will reach about US $90 billion.

In the global valve industry, the United States, Germany, Japan, France and Taiwan, China belong to the first echelon of comprehensive strength, and their valves occupy the high-end market of the industry.

Since the 1980s, the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea and other countries have gradually transferred medium and low-end industries to developing countries. China is the country with the most concentrated and fastest-growing valve industry.

At present, it has become the largest valve industry country in the world in terms of valve production and export, and is already moving towards a powerful valve country.

Data of China’s valve industry

By 2021, the annual output value of China’s valve industry has exceeded 210 billion yuan for many consecutive years, with an industry growth rate of more than 6%.

The number of valve manufacturers in China is huge, and the number of large and small valve enterprises nationwide is estimated to be more than 10000. Accelerating the process of industrial concentration has become the strategic goal of China’s valve industry. In terms of output, it has increased steadily in recent years. The national valve output was 7.86 million tons in 2017, 8.3 million tons in 2019, 8.5 million tons in 2020 and 8.7 million tons in 2021.

Development of main valve markets

1. Oil and gas industry

In North America and some developed countries, there are many proposed and expanded oil projects. In addition, because people pay more and more attention to environmental protection and the state has established environmental protection regulations, the refineries established many years ago must be rebuilt. Therefore, the funds invested in oil development and refining will maintain a growth momentum in the next few years. The construction of China’s oil and gas long-distance pipeline and the future construction of Russia’s long-distance pipeline will directly promote the growth of the valve market in the oil industry. According to the long-term development of oil and gas development and transmission valve market, it is predicted that the demand for valves in oil and gas development and transmission will increase from US $8.2 billion in 2002 to US $14 billion in 2005.

2. Energy industry

For a long time, the demand for valves in the energy industry has maintained a solid and stable growth rate. The total power generation of thermal power stations and nuclear power stations built all over the world is 2679030mw, that of the United States is 743391mw, and that of new power station projects in other countries is 780000mw, which will increase by 40% in the next few years. Europe, South America, Asia, especially China’s energy market will become a new growth point of the valve market. From 2002 to 2005, the demand for valve products in the energy market will rise from US $5.2 billion to US $6.9 billion, with an average annual growth of 9.3%.

3. Chemical industry

The chemical industry ranks first in the industry with an output value of more than 1.5 trillion US dollars. It is also one of the markets with large demand for valves. Chemical industry needs mature design, high processing quality and rare industrial materials. In recent years, the competition in the chemical market has become extremely fierce, and many chemical manufacturers have to cut costs. However, from 2003 to 2004, the output value and profit of the chemical industry have doubled, and the demand for valve products has ushered in a new peak in the past 30 years. As shown in figure 4, after 2005, the demand for valve products in the chemical industry will increase at an annual growth rate of 5%.

Export status of valves in China

China’s main valve exporting countries are the United States, Germany, Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Italy.

In 2020, the export value of China’s valves will be more than US $16 billion, a decrease of about US $600 million over 2018. However, although there is no public valve data in 2021, it is expected to be significantly higher than that in 2020. Because in the first quarter of 2021, China’s valve export increased by more than 27%.

Among China’s valve exporters, the United States, Germany and Russia account for the top three, especially the United States. The value of valves exported to the United States accounts for more than 20% of the total export value.

Since 2017, China’s valve exports have hovered between 5 billion and 5.3 billion sets. Among them, the number of valve exports in 2017 was 5.072 billion, which increased continuously in 2018 and 2019, reaching 5.278 billion in 2019. In 2020, there was a decline to 5.105 billion units.

The export unit price of valves has been rising continuously. In 2017, the average price of a set of valves exported in China was US $2.89, and by 2020, the average price of exported valves rose to US $3.2/set.

Although China’s valve exports account for 25% of the global valve production, the transaction amount is still less than 10% of the global valve output value, which shows that China’s valve industry is still in the low-end niche in the global valve industry.