For the Quarter Ending December 2022
North America
North American region, primarily the United States market, displayed decremented pricing sentiments for Threonine during the final Quarter of 2022. At the start of the fourth quarter, the prices declined considerably as the demand remained dormant for food and feed grades. Market players keep a close eye on various factors that have impacted the market of almost all commodities, including Threonine. Further, no significant changes in the trend were observed throughout the end of the fourth quarter as fewer inquiries kept the inventories on the upper end among the market players for Threonine. Following December, Threonine's cost was estimated at USD 3270/ MT CFR New York.
Asia Pacific
The prices of Threonine in the Asia Pacific region, majorly in China, demonstrated a mixed market sentiment during the last Quarter of 2022. Government data showed the official manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 48.0 in November, slipping well below last month's reading of 49.2 as steadily rising COVID-19 cases in the fourth quarter, which in turn further affected the market sentiments of all the commodities, including Threonine. Although, in October, the prices for Threonine inclined significantly on the back of an increase in its inquiries within the domestic market. With the ending of the fourth quarter, i.e., in December, the prices of Threonine inclined again with a settlement at USD 2875 /MT FOB Shanghai.
Europe
During the fourth quarter of 2022, the prices of Threonine showed ascending market sentiments in the European region. With the start of October, a continuous decremented trend for Threonine was observed within the region because of the decrease in end-user demand. Following November, the prices remained lower due to a decline in international orders, notably from exporting nations like China, and demand decreased from the previous month. However, towards the end of this fourth quarter, the prices increased, balanced with the overall stocks among the market players. With this, the cost of Threonine witnessed during q4 was recorded at USD 3150 CFR Hamburg in Germany.
For the Quarter Ending September 2022
North America
The market trend for Threonine fell in the third quarter of 2022, with CFR New York prices for food grade falling from $3650/mt to $3072/mt and feed grade descending from $1530/mt to $1290/mt from July to September. Threonine was one of many amino acids whose imports into the US were severely constrained as a result of China's zero-tolerance policy. Numerous Chinese manufacturing facilities were forced to close in the second half of Q3 because of the heat wave and a power constraint, which had a negative effect on US commerce. Many companies and experts blamed the United States diminishing demand on a variety of problems, including inflation, supply shortages, and the nation's high-interest rates.
Asia Pacific
The market trend for Threonine across the Asia Pacific region exhibited a negative tendency in China, where FOB Shanghai values for Food grade fell from $2400/mt to $2020/mt, and feed grade values fell from $1530/mt to $1290/mt from July to September. Numerous factors, such as shifting raw material costs, subdued consumer spending, and weak end-user sector demand, had an impact on pricing. Big suppliers put off placing sizable orders in the first half due to poor offtakes and weak downstream demand. When the markets reopened in the final week of July, a number of production plants, including Vega Pharma, Prumix, and others, were undergoing maintenance as a result of the outage. This affected the product flow for domestic and international suppliers during H2 of quarter 3. Extreme weather and economic factors have also negatively impacted the market dynamics in China this quarter of 2022.
Europe
The CFR Hamburg negotiations for both food and feed grades in the domestic German market showed a downward trend after the values declined from $3100/mt and $2330/mt to $2600/mt to $1864/mt in September, continuing a downward trend throughout the quarter. The already difficult economic climate in Europe was made much more difficult by the unrest in Russia and Ukraine and the on-and-off port restrictions in China. Furthermore, the food and feed industries had a sluggish demand along with low to stable offtakes.
