For the Quarter Ending September 2023
North America
With the commencement of the third quarter of 2023, the prices of Acesulfame Potassium plummeted across the North American region. A decline in the price trajectory was primarily driven by a consistent drop in consumption of artificial sweeteners within the downstream food industries, resulting in increased local inventory levels in the US market. Additionally, there was a modest rise in upstream production in the past months, which resulted in a sufficient availability of the product to meet the overall incoming inquiries within the region. In continuation to this, speculative selling may have additionally contributed to the decline in prices owing to the alleviation of global supply chain disruptions, and a reduction in purchasing activity had resulted in more than the accumulation of downstream products. Additionally, according to the PMI data for August, the manufacturing sector contracted during that month, albeit at a somewhat slower rate. For the tenth consecutive month, there was a decline in new orders, albeit at a slower pace than in July. Though at a slower pace, production also declined. Besides this, the merchants were reluctant to place newer quotations for the forthcoming period owing to a persistent drop in inquiries, further contributing to a downward price trend in the entire Q3-2023.
Asia Pacific
As the third quarter of 2023 commenced, Acesulfame Potassium prices experienced a significant reduction in the Asia Pacific region, primarily across the Chinese market. China, being one of the exporters of pharmaceutical excipients and certain artificial sweeteners, witnessed a persistent drop in both domestic and regional offtakes of Acesulfame Potassium for the entire Q3. This was on the back of a consistently pessimistic market outlook in artificial sweetener industries. The inventory of Acesulfame Potassium continues to be elevated, with more availability of products in the local spot market. Also, further supporting this, owing to an overall decrease in regional and overseas quotations, the merchants considerably dropped their selling prices to clear out their accumulated inventory levels. Further supporting this, the trade momentum for the entire quarter from China remained on the lower side, keeping the higher accumulation of goods at the ports of Chinese traders. Also, the merchants significantly reduced their manufacturing activity for the entire quarter and focused on destocking processes while a continuous strengthening of the US dollar against the Chinese Yuan kept the exporting prices on the upper side, which caused the traders to pull back further their significantly placed previous orders, reinforcing a continuous drop in its prices. Overall, as Q3 ends in September, the value of Acesulfame Potassium in China was assembled at $ 4235/MT.
Europe
Across the European market, the price trajectory for Acesulfame Potassium remained on the cynical side, following the trend of the previous quarter of 2023. The finite availability of stockpiles among the suppliers and retailers, with a consistent drop in consumption in the food industry, kept the market attitude on the southerly side for the entire Q3. Moreover, as per the market participants, the consumer price inflation rate also slowed to 6.2 percent year-on-year in July 2023, down from 6.4 percent in the previous month and in line with market expectations, a preliminary estimate showed in July. Supporting this gloomy market outlook, following August, the German logistics market was having difficulties in August 2023 because of a precipitous drop in the demand for storage and logistical space. Numerous factors were cited as causes of this, including fluctuations in the economy, supply chain disruptions, and rising energy costs. The worldwide economic recession is having a negative impact on the demand for logistics services. This is because when the future is uncertain, businesses are less inclined to expand their operations or invest in new projects. As a result, the demand for logistics services like freight forwarding, shipping, and warehousing is declining, keeping the overall market dynamic on the southerly side. Overall, with the termination of q3, the prices of Acesulfame Potassium across the German market got assembled at $ 4400/MT, demonstrating a persistent weakened supply-demand activity.
For the Quarter Ending June 2023
North America
With the commencement of the Second quarter of 2023, the prices of Acesulfame Potassium experienced a sluggish market sentiment on the back of a consistent decrease in domestic demand from downstream food & beverage and pharmaceutical sectors. The weak demand led to excess inventory, which forced suppliers to lower their prices. Also, the ongoing economic instability in the U.S. and the rising global inflation rate have also contributed to the decline in demand for artificial sweeteners. In addition, as U.S. businesses struggle to offload their large inventory, import volumes have declined significantly during the month of May. At the major container ports across the U.S., the volume of imported goods has also decreased. Geopolitical tensions during May have prompted affected commerce to relocate. However, with a steady decrease in domestic inquiries, large inventories, and the recent announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) that Aspartame is classified as a “possible carcinogen,” distributors are concerned about placing large orders because of falling prices. Furthermore, trades and suppliers are not restocking inventories. Instead, they are focusing on clearing their surplus.
Asia Pacific
All through the second quarter of 2023 across the APAC region, both in China and India, the prices of Acesulfame Potassium underwent a parallel market trend. As for the Chinese market, Acesulfame Potassium prices dropped throughout the second quarter, consistently sustaining its downward market trend. This consistent declining trend was on account of weaker demand for Acesulfame Potassium, primarily used as an artificial sweetener in the food industry both from the domestic and international markets. Moreover, due to the recent strengthening of the Chinese Yuan against the U.S. dollar during May, Acesulfame Potassium has become more expensive for consumers in other nations resulting in a significant drop in its inquiries from foreign markets as it will cost more yuan to purchase the same amount of Acesulfame Potassium that was available at a lower rated in previous months. Apart from that, moving towards the end of Q2, i.e., June 2023, the price of Acesulfame Potassium fell by around 13 percent, which was more than a price drop in the last two months. This significant drop in its prices was because of weak purchasing of its upstream material from the international market resulting in higher stockpiles. Furthermore, China’s Manufacturing PMI also dropped to 50.5 in June 2023 from 50.9 in May. This was the second consecutive month that the PMI has fallen below the 50-point mark, which indicates that the manufacturing sector was also contracting. This prompted the suppliers in the domestic market to sell their products at discounted prices to clear out their piled-up stocks among stores.
Europe
Across the European market, the price of Acesulfame Potassium continued to decline throughout the second quarter of 2023, owing to a consistent decrease in its domestic demand and overseas inquiries since the middle of the first quarter. Moreover, the higher availability of artificial sweeteners in the German market was due to several factors, including a significant decline in demand and weakened trade momentum resulting in no import-export momentum within the region. Also, the prices of raw materials used in the manufacturing of Acesulfame Potassium showcased decreased trajectory, further supporting the depreciating trend until the final weeks of June. Apart from that, acesulfame potassium is considered an artificial sweetener used in the food industry. Due to seasonal changes, after witnessing the overall market trend, the merchants decide to destock their piled-up stocks first and avoid restocking activity in order to avoid deterioration of their end-product during the month of June. Overall, the second quarter witnessed a decline of 10 percent in the prices of Acesulfame Potassium.
The first quarter of 2023 saw a decremented price trend for Acesulfame Potassium because of a decrease in overall inquiries. Moreover, January demonstrates a surge in the prices of Acesulfame Potassium due to an increase in demand which was further balanced with the supplies among the local merchants as the previous stockpiles were sufficient to meet the overall demand this month. During the mid of the first quarter, the markets in the U.S. improved to some extent, but still, the demand from various sectors decreased, owing to which domestic retailers pulled back their newer orders from export nations and focused on destocking their piled-up stocks. Overall, the prices for Acesulfame Potassium were assembled at USD 8600/MT CFR Houston in the United States.
In the APAC region, Aspartame prices showcased a declining trend during the first quarter of 2023. During the first half of the first quarter, i.e., in January 2023, the market sentiments displayed a positive price trajectory in China, majorly because of improved domestic demands following the Lunar New Year as both consumption and production increased significantly. Besides that, market participants focused on refilling their shelves to prevent stock shortages. Following February, the prices started to decline at a moderate rate and followed a similar trend until the end of this quarter. With this, the prices for Aspartame were assembled at USD 8070/MT FOB Shanghai, propelling the manufacturers to reduce their production activity and destock the inventories to maintain their profit margin.
The price for Acesulfame Potassium in the European region dropped during the first quarter of 2023. This price trend was supported by weaker demand from the end-user industry coupled with stockpiles leading to lessen trade momentum. Moreover, a decline in freight charges owing to ease in the logistical problems, which resulted in enough cargo capacity on ships at German ports, didn’t affect the market trend because the inquiries remained on the lower side during the month of February also. However, cheaper imports from the APAC region still did not affect the overall market trend of Acesulfame Potassium this quarter. In Total, a consistent decrease in domestic inquiries and lower customer interest resulted in higher stockpiles of Acesulfame Potassium among the market players, which in turn supported the decremented price trend in Germany. With this, the prices for Acesulfame Potassium were settled at USD 9050/MT CFR Hamburg.
