BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese export prices of soda ash rose substantially to 224.5 U.S. dollars per tonne on average in the first quarter, up 41.7 percent over the same period last year, according to customs statistics.

    China exported 467,000 tonnes of soda ash in the first three months, up 4.1 percent year-on-year. But the total value surged 47.5 percent to 100 million U.S. dollars.

    The average export prices gained 46 percent from 158.9 U.S. dollars per tonne last May over months to 231.8 U.S. dollars in March.

    Export to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hit 258,000 tonnes, taking up more than half of the total volume, as ASEAN demand for chemical products kept increasing on its growing manufacturing capacity and consumption, analysts said.

    The stronger bargaining power of China in international market was behind the major price rise, analysts said, as China and the United States, the two major soda ash exporters, developed different market priorities. As the U.S. focused more on exporting its natural soda ash to the European and American markets, China has gradually had an increasingly leading role in the Asian market.

    At the same time, production costs have continued to rise as crude oil prices hit historical highs, which has also pushed up prices, analysts said.

    A customs officer warned that the domestic manufacturing capacity has already become stretched by the expanding construction and chemical industries in China, and many domestic manufacturers are running at full capacity.