Amino acids market slows: Prices flat amid trade pressure

Global amino acid markets remain soft, with lysine, methionine, and others seeing stable but weak pricing. Trade actions and cautious demand are keeping pressure on Q3 activity, despite low FOB China prices and rising freight rates.

Highlights:

Lysine: The global lysine market remains weak due to ongoing anti-dumping investigations (notably by the USA) and reduced demand. Despite historically low FOB China prices, European prices are also subdued. Freight costs are rising, but this hasn’t translated into stronger pricing.
Threonine: Prices have stabilised at low levels. While freight costs for shipments to the USA and Europe have increased.
DL-Methionine: Prices are generally stable worldwide. Europe saw a brief price uptick due to Q3 pricing adjustments by manufacturers, but levels have since stabilised.
Tryptophan: Market prices have steadied after prior sharp declines, with supply remaining ample. Some Chinese producers have paused offers due to poor margins.
Valine: FOB China prices have levelled off at low values, while prices elsewhere – especially for Chinese-origin product – continue to drop. Europe is seeing significant declines for Chinese valine in anticipation of potential anti-dumping measures. The price gap with non-Chinese origins remains wide.

In partnership with Feed Additive Prices

Lysine

The lysine hcl market continues to be weak, despite the already low market prices. Several global anti-dumping investigations and at the same time reduced consumption, have led to a currently weak market. FOB China prices seem to have stabilised for some weeks now at a low level. The USA has launched an anti-dumping investigation into all lysine products manufactured in China. European prices are similarly weak. Despite the historic low FOB prices from China and rising container freight costs, prices in Europe remain stable to weak so far. A considerable amount of Q3 contracts remain unfulfilled in regions like Europe and China, but buyers are exhibiting a cautious wait-and-see approach.

AMINO ACID PRICES: Here the market prices of 3 important amino acids are tracked – check it out…

Threonine

The main trend is stable, and FOB China prices have not changed for some weeks now. At the same time, container freight rates have increased for June and July shipments ex China to the USA and Europe. The market has reacted in some cases with additional Q3 purchases and some first interest in Q4 volumes.

DL-Methionine

Stable prices in most regions. In Europe, methionine prices have recently seen a slight increase, driven by several manufacturers raising their prices for the new Q3 business. But that has stabilised again. In the US, methionine prices have remained stable recently. The FOB China price experienced a brief firming but has since returned to stability. Q3 contracts are mostly booked by now.

Tryptophan

Recent trends indicate that prices have stabilised after a significant decline, with overall levels remaining low across major regions and ample supply available. However, some manufacturers in China have halted their offerings due to challenges in achieving profit margins at the current pricing. Contracts for the second quarter are secured, alongside a limited portion of agreements for the third quarter.

Valine

After a period of price decline, the FOB China has started to stabilise, although at a very low price level. Prices in other regions continue to weaken, especially for Chinese origin. In Europe, the Chinese origins have shown a significant price decline, anticipating future anti-dumping implications. The price spread with non-Chinese origins is therefore still significant. A large portion of Q3 is already contracted.