In July 2025, North America MCC import prices rose steadily, demonstrating clear deviation from past pricing trends. It was bolstered by robust demand for pharmaceutical and food additive applications in the face of worldwide shortages, high raw material costs, particularly wood pulp, and transportation challenges CFR prices rose. China's short-term output reductions, along with limited international supplies, pushed U.S. buyers to pay a premium. With ongoing pharma and nutraceutical demand and restricted supplies, analysts project MCC prices to keep rising through August and September.
The North American market saw a consistent rise in microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) import prices for the month of July 2025, representing an important departure for the pricing trend of the excipient. With a combination of improved demand for MCC underpinned by weakened world supply, elevated pharmaceutical and food additive consumptions, and ongoing logistical shortages, MCC prices have maintained a rising trend at major East and West Coast ports.
As of July, the import prices of MCC are expected to jump by as much as 1.5%, according to market analysts. The rise is most dramatic in imports from India and China, the U.S.'s main suppliers, where manufacturers have at the same time increased FOB levels in reaction to high raw material costs and firming order books. The global supply chain for MCC has faced growing stress over the past few months as upstream tension on wood pulp — the primary raw material in MCC manufacture — intensified.
High-purity cellulose pulp prices spiked, with lead producers across Europe and Asia recording lack of availability due to seasonal shut-downs, environmental restrictions, and logistics congestion. Also, short-term production declines at major Chinese manufacturing centers — thereby resulting in a limited export supply. This drop has tightened the international spot market, compelling U.S. importers to bid for available supply at a premium. Microcrystalline cellulose is an essential binder and bulking agent in tablet, capsule, and dietary supplement formulation.
With strong growth in pharmaceutical production and nutraceutical consumption in North America, MCC consumption may continued to be firm. The continued momentum for OTC drug production and the widening market for functional foods have also strengthened MCC off-take throughout the U.S. Market players further observe that increased formulation activity by contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) and while end-users sectors has resulted in longer lead times and competitive procurement, fueling the bullish trend in pricing.
In the months to come, MCC's prospects are strong. It is expected that there will be further price pressure upwards from August to September, particularly if wood pulp prices and freight costs stay high. The expected festive season demand from Asia, coupled with possible port congestion and low inventories, would further add to supply tightness. In general, the US microcrystalline cellulose import market is experiencing a period of continuous price inflation, underpinned by raw material dynamics, firm end-use demand, and global supply constraints. Procurement planning should be conducted accordingly by the buyers since the trend does not indicate.
