The USA is the dominant force in the soda ash world, largely due to its vast reserves of competatively priced natural trona. Synthetic production of soda ash, which is carried out mainly in Europe, Korea, Japan, China, Australia and Indonesia, is more expensive than conventional mining of trona - as a result more and more soda ash is supplied from natural sources. In the next few years, China is expected to push ahead of the USA in terms of soda ash output, but should pose little threat to US export markets as the majority will be destined for domestic consumption. Recently there has been some reshuffling in the business largely due to the lifting of ani-dumping duties on US producers which has meant that the European players have felt the pressure. Consequently the industry has witnessed some ownership changes and plant closures.
