Amino acids markets: Firmer lysine and threonine market
FOB China prices for lysine and threonine have been firmer this week, particularly for export. Demand for export is good and some suppliers have already started to offer September shipments as they are sold out for August. Some suppliers have still stopped offering lysine. Learn more in this week’s feed additives snapshot (week 25).
The container freight rate to Europe and the Americas continues to firm and it looks like that could last for months. As a result prices in the regions for lysine and threonine have also started to firm. Methionine has again been stable this week. Tryptophan, arginine and valine are weakish on a FOB China basis, but any price decline is currently offset by higher freight rates.
In partnership with Feed Additive Prices
Lysine
Prices FOB China for export have been rising again this week, in case manufacturers are offering. August and September shipments are now being discussed. Especially in Europe, prices are firming for late Q3 and Q4 delivery, as container freight and import duties are calculated in the price. In the US there is a firmer market seen as well. Q3 is contracted and a portion of Q4 also.
Threonine
Prices FOB China are firmer this. In particular demand for export is picking up as Q4 needs to be contracted soon. Container freight rates to several main ports have increased significantly, the local threonine prices have therefore already increased for Q3 and early Q4. Buyers have been contracted for a good portion of Q3. There is a wait-and-see attitude for longer-term contracts, although that sentiment is now slowly changing to a buying one.
Here the market prices of 3 important amino acids are tracked – check it out…
DL-Methionine
No changes compared to previous weeks. Methionine prices have been slightly weaker in most regions, but stabilising again currently, as higher container freight rates compensate for any earlier decline. After a recent period of stable to firmer markets, the momentum to keep prices up is gone, at least for now. In almost all regions, the market is quiet and contracted forward. Q3 is mostly contracted ahead.
Tryptophan
Prices are stable in most regions, as the recent weaker tone is compensated by higher container freight rates, which offsets the decline. There is more production capacity allocated to smaller amino acids and more tryptophan is slowly coming on the market this and coming years, exceeding consumption. In local regions, like Europe, where Chinese suppliers do not have authorisations in place yet or can’t supply from Xinjiang origin, the local Western suppliers can keep higher prices. Some of Q3 is contracted but there is still a wait-and-see attitude.
Valine
Valine prices FOB China continue to be weak and there is not a lot of buying interest. But at the same time, the container freight costs are starting to have an impact now also on higher priced amino acids, so the end price in the local regions is actually stable at the moment. Prices in the USA are mostly stable to slightly weak. The market is very quiet at the moment and only small spot buying activity is seen. A portion of Q3 is contracted, but nothing any further ahead.
