Amino acid markets remain subdued, with price pressure and inventory build-up shaping contracts and future coverage. Regional trends for lysine, threonine, methionine, tryptophan, and valine reflect ongoing uncertainty and shifting supply-demand dynamics.
In partnership with Feed Additive Prices
Lysine
Price levels remain under pressure across multiple regions due to a significant absence of new demand, which has led to increased inventory buildup among manufacturers. At this time, most markets are fairly quiet, with various areas showing signs of pricing weakness. The recent news about the potential reopening of the EU anti-dumping case has not yet created a substantial change in market perceptions in Europe. Looking ahead to the second quarter and much of the third quarter, contracts are already in place, while interest in securing additional coverage for the latter part of Q3 and beyond is low.
Threonine
Suppliers remain very keen to hold up prices after the recent increase. Threonine is one of the larger volume amino acids and is still profitable at the current market price level. Yet, due to a lack of new demand, prices in some regions are starting to be slightly weaker, although that is not a general trend yet. Q2 is contracted, and a good portion of Q3 is as well, but not all of it yet.
DL-Methionine
Prices are currently stable in most regions, despite the ongoing uncertainty in the market. The recent stabilisation has occurred at a higher price level, but underlying doubts linger. As buyers remain cautious in the face of these elevated costs, a slight decline in prices is observed. Methionine production facilities in areas with inconsistent access to petrochemicals are struggling significantly to maintain their supply. Although the second quarter is mostly contracted, there continues to be uncertainty regarding the market’s direction in the third quarter.
Tryptophan
The current market remains relatively quiet, with prices holding steady across most regions. Yet when viewed from a historical point of view, the tryptophan market price continues to hover at low levels. Q2 and most of Q3 have been contracted already.
Valine
Although nearby availability is still tight, the overall market prices have started to weaken in most regions, especially for Q3 and Q4 business. Prices ex-China have started to decline further this week. Although significant delays ex-Asia still weigh on the supply chain and, in some cases, existing contracts are not being executed on time, availability should improve soon.
