Analysis of customs data of three major varieties of Q1 amino acids in 2021

Looking back at the first quarter of 2021, the customs data of most varieties of amino acids have increased significantly. Among them, the export volume of lysine salt and ester has reached a high level in recent years, and the export volume of methionine has increased by more than 150% year-on-year. What is the specific export data of each product in the first quarter? What is the reason for this? Next, the author will interpret and analyze in order from the following aspects.

1. Customs data statistics of various types of amino acids

1. Lysine salts and esters

Customs data shows that in March 2021, domestic exports of lysine and lysine salts and esters totaled 86,500 tons, a month-on-month increase of 30,100 tons, an increase of 53%; a year-on-year decrease of 5,700 tons, a decrease of 6.2%. In the first quarter of 2021, domestic exports of lysine and lysine salts and esters totaled 210,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 10,500 tons, an increase of 5%.

Customs data shows that in March 2021, the domestic exports of threonine totaled 59,700 tons, an increase of 18,700 tons from the previous month, an increase of 45.6%; an increase of 4,100 tons, a decrease of 7.3% compared to the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2021, domestic exports of threonine totaled 144,900 tons, a year-on-year increase of 7,300 tons, an increase of 5.3%.

3. Methionine export

Customs data shows that in March 2021, domestic exports of methionine totaled 6664 tons, an increase of 3090 tons month-on-month, an increase of 86.45%; an increase of 4094 tons year-on-year, an increase of 159%. In the first quarter of 2021, domestic exports of methionine totaled 184.14 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 11,275 tons, an increase of 158%.

4. Import of Methionine

In March 2021, a total of 20,700 tons of methionine was imported in China, an increase of 7,200 tons from the previous month, an increase of 52.9%; a year-on-year decrease of 23,000 tons, a decrease of 10%. In the first quarter of 2021, domestic imports of methionine totaled 54,500 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1,300 tons, or 2.4%.

2. Analysis and interpretation of customs data of various amino acids

In March, the export volume of lysine salt, ester and threonine increased by over 10,000 tons from the previous month, and the export of threonine reached a high level in recent years. The reason was that the domestic production capacity on the supply side was gradually released, but the non-plague epidemic reappeared in some downstream areas. The epidemic situation in northern regions such as Hebei and Shandong is more serious. The southern provinces have suspended the transfer of live pigs from other provinces, farmers have thrown pigs to increase supply, and small and medium-sized farmers have been cautiously replenishing pigs. In March, foreign amino acid demand was relatively good. Inquiry prices and trading conditions were relatively active. Under the deviation of domestic demand, domestic market transactions were weak, and most manufacturers and traders moved to foreign markets.

The export volume of methionine in March increased markedly year-on-year. The main reason was that Evonik’s foreign Singapore and U.S. plants planned routine maintenance and closure of German plants in March and April, and the Norvis plant in Texas caused force majeure due to a snowstorm in the United States. Production capacity and supply-side output have declined. Second, the production of new Hecheng expansion on the supply side and the start-up of the new Ziguang line have led to the gradual release of China's methionine production capacity, which then spread to foreign markets.

The methionine import data in March also increased by 52.9% month-on-month. The first reason was that the Ministry of Commerce announced in February that it had made a positive preliminary ruling on the anti-dumping (AD) investigation of methionine from France, Japan and Spain. Most manufacturers turned to the Chinese market. Second, due to public health emergencies, the arrival of ships in the first quarter was delayed to March, so the increase in imports of methionine was more pronounced month-on-month.