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.
This shift has several knock-on effects. US and EU industrial gas majors have lost ground in key growth markets such as China and India, where low-cost Russian helium undercuts competitors and creates pricing pressure across the supply chain.
However, Deng believes this trend may be nearing its peak. “We don’t think further price cuts will help Russian helium gain more market share,” he said, adding that import growth from Russia has already started to slow.
At the same time, China is ramping up efforts to develop domestic helium sources, including LNG-based recovery projects in select provinces. While still limited in scale, these local initiatives are helping to supplement certain segments.
“This local supply is starting to play a balancing role, supplementing certain market segments right now; the market gives us a strategic window to consolidate and restore some discipline,” Deng said.
Looking ahead, China’s national policy emphasis on advanced manufacturing, AI, quantum computing, and aerospace is expected to keep helium demand elevated. But Deng warned that supply security and value capture must become top priorities for industrial gas firms operating in this high-growth but increasingly complex market.