China's Glycine Market Enters Deep Downturn in June 2025
In June 2025, the market for Glycine in China fell into a deep downward channel. For the seventh consecutive month, prices have fallen, making this round of decline the most significant in nearly five months. The price decline of dietary supplements, cosmetic additives, and pharmaceutical intermediates based on Glycine has triggered inventory reassessment and procurement rhythm adjustments in multiple links of the supply chain.
High Inventories Drive Price Restructuring
According to ChemAnalyst, a market intelligence digital platform for real-time chemical and petrochemical price trends, this round of price drops is mainly constrained by three factors: sustained decline in raw material costs, excessive finished goods inventories, and persistently weak export demand.
At the same time as the overall cost has decreased, there is a strong hesitation in the buyer's market, which has accelerated the decline of the ex-factory quotation for Glycine. The quotation range of major domestic manufacturers has generally loosened, while downstream enterprises have delayed procurement, waiting for signals from the market bottom.
On the raw material side, the price of Ammonia, the core upstream of Glycine, has fallen for four consecutive months, providing significant cost relief space for production enterprises. Glycine production enterprises that mainly use synthetic methods to prepare Glycine have further released price elasticity on the basis of reducing raw material costs, but this "advantage" failed to translate into new orders.
The deterioration of supply and demand structure has become the core variable that overwhelms prices. According to ChemAnalyst data, as of the end of June, multiple Glycine factories reported high inventory status, mainly due to a sharp decrease in export orders in the early stage and a less-than-expected response from the domestic demand side. Clearing inventory has become the main theme of the industry this month, and many companies have proactively lowered their prices to promote shipment volume.
The uncertainty at the export end almost completely negates the "undermines floor" of prices. In the second quarter of 2025, China's Glycine exports continued to decline for the third consecutive month on a month on month basis, and orders from European and American buyers were significantly reduced. The correction of the US dollar against the Chinese yuan has weakened the relative competitiveness of Chinese Glycine in the global market. At the same time, the price advantages of alternative production areas such as Southeast Asia and India are gradually emerging, and some orders are being diverted.
The increase in freight rates also constitutes additional cost pressure. Especially on the main routes from Asia to Europe and North America, container freight rates significantly increased in June, leading to further narrowing of the marginal profit of Glycine exports. Overall, the tug of war between price, cost, and demand has not yet found a balance point.
Simple Molecules with Significant Value
Glycine is far from being a simple Amino Acid. As the smallest molecular weight among the 20 protein Amino Acids, Glycine's unique structure endows it with rich functions in many fields.
From a chemical structure perspective, the side chain of Glycine is a single hydrogen atom, and the α carbon connects two hydrogen atoms without asymmetric carbon, so there is no optical isomer. It is precisely this minimalist molecular structure that allows Glycine to occupy spatial positions that other Amino Acids cannot enter, playing a crucial role in collagen synthesis and maintenance.
On the application side, the traditional downstream of Glycine includes pharmaceutical synthesis, animal feed, cosmetics, and functional foods.
According to data from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), in April 2025, new raw materials such as Tripeptide-29 (Glycine-core) were filed, demonstrating the industry's continued attention to Amino Acid based materials.
After experiencing intensive destocking at the end of June, some observers believe that there is an expectation of a "low-level rebound" in the price of Glycine. On the one hand, the geopolitical risks have slightly eased, and the throughput of European and American ports is gradually recovering, which is conducive to the release of orders. On the other hand, international buyers may initiate a new round of periodic restocking in July after delaying their purchases for several months.
Strategic Value of Foundational Molecules
Glycine is undergoing a process of redefinition. The current price adjustment, although bringing short-term pressure to manufacturers, also provides cost advantages for downstream application enterprises. With the increasing demand for functional skincare products from consumers and the continuous expansion of the anti-aging and repair product market, the application prospects of Glycine and its derivatives remain broad.
However, the rebound is still mainly technical and it is difficult to change the pattern of weak fundamentals. Overall, the imbalance between supply and demand, lack of channel confidence, and weakening of global downstream consumption will remain key keywords that the Glycine industry will find difficult to shake off in the short term.
