Market overview

DL-Methionine (CAS 59-51-8) is the first limiting amino acid in poultry diets and one of the largest-volume feed additives in the world. Production is highly concentrated: it uses a capital-intensive route from propylene (acrolein), methyl mercaptan and hydrogen cyanide, so only a handful of producers operate world-scale plants. Evonik (MetAMINO) is the market leader, competing with Adisseo, Novus, CJ CheilJedang, Sumitomo Chemical and NHU. Prices swing with Chinese capacity additions and poultry demand.

The question this report answers
Who wins the methionine price cycle as Chinese capacity grows, and what would a BASF-Evonik combination mean for supply?

Market Krystal preliminary estimate (2025)
IMARC values methionine at USD 7.0 bn (2025). A volume check (about 1.6-1.8 Mt at USD 3.8-4.4/kg) supports USD 6.5-7.5 bn. Confidence grade A: two or more independent sources agree, or the range rests on government or company data.

Market dynamics
– Demand: poultry, swine and aquaculture feed; grows with meat output in Asia, Latin America and Africa
– Supply: Evonik, Adisseo, Novus, CJ, Sumitomo, NHU; capital-intensive HCN route limits entrants
– Price and margin: cyclical, driven by Chinese capacity additions
– Regulation: antitrust review of any BASF-Evonik deal; feed additive approvals

Key figures at a glance (third-party, cited)
– Methionine market: USD 7.0 bn (2025) to USD 11.9 bn by 2034 at 5.82% CAGR; animal feed is the largest end use and Asia-Pacific the largest region (IMARC)
– Aug 2024: Evonik completed a 40,000 t/yr expansion in Singapore, taking site capacity to 340,000 t/yr of MetAMINO (Feedstuffs)

Recent developments among key stakeholders
– Sep-Oct 2026: BASF made a non-binding offer for Evonik valued at about EUR 10.3 bn (about EUR 22 per share); Evonik rejected it as too low, BASF may raise it and is courting RAG-Stiftung (about 43% holder); on 22 Oct 2026 BASF pledged no operational dismissals until 2032 in a combination (PlasticsToday)
– Aug 2024: Evonik completed a 40,000 t/yr expansion at Jurong Island, Singapore (site total 340,000 t/yr), using green hydrogen from a 9 MW Linde electrolyser (Feedstuffs)

What this means for the market
A BASF-Evonik combination would put this product under new ownership or into an antitrust remedy sale. Bidders, banks, competitors and customers all need an independent, product-level view of capacity, share and pricing now.

How published estimates compare
IMARC reports value only. Because methionine prices have moved sharply with Chinese capacity additions, a value-only forecast can hide large changes in volume. Market Krystal reports tonnes, producer capacities by site and price under explicit scenarios.

Strategic scenarios to 2047
– Base: demand follows GDP, construction and population; China and the Middle East add capacity while Europe rationalises on energy costs.
– Constrained supply: energy shocks, carbon prices and closures in Europe tighten regional supply and widen price spreads between regions.
– Technology transition: low-carbon routes (green hydrogen, electrified crackers, bio-feedstocks, CO2 capture) change cost curves and favour early movers.
The swing factor for DL-Methionine is Chinese capacity additions and any BASF-Evonik remedies. Signposts: European closure announcements, EU CBAM scope, Chinese capacity additions, energy prices.

What this report delivers
Annual volume (tonnes) and value (USD) for 2026-2035, segmented by product: DL-methionine (powder), methionine hydroxy analogue (MHA, liquid), L-methionine; application: poultry, swine, aquaculture, ruminant (protected), pharma and food; region: China, Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, Latin America. Each segment is backed by a producer capacity table, price benchmarks for 2020-2025 by grade and region, trade-flow analysis and a supplier risk map. Companies assessed include Evonik, Adisseo (Bluestar), Novus International, CJ CheilJedang, Sumitomo Chemical, Zhejiang NHU. The 2036-2047 outlook uses three explicit scenarios (base, constrained supply and technology transition) rather than a single extrapolated curve.

Who uses this report
Feed integrators, methionine producers, agri-food and chemical investors.

Why our approach is evidence-based
Most CAS-level market listings publish a single number with no audit trail, and we regularly find figures that contradict their own growth rates or exceed the size of the market they sit inside. Market Krystal works the other way round. We start from physical evidence: plant capacities, production and trade data, company disclosures, regulatory texts and price records. We build volume and price separately and only then compute value. Every third-party figure is cited, every Market Krystal estimate is labelled with its method and a confidence grade, and conflicts between sources are shown rather than hidden. Confidence grades: A = two or more independent sources agree, or government or company data; B = one published estimate checked against volumes or prices; C = no reliable published figure, so the range is built from stated assumptions and narrowed in the full report.

Methodology and delivery
Prepared by the Market Krystal Chemicals Research Team. Each report is built around the buyer’s question: after purchase, a short scope confirmation fixes the priority regions, companies and applications, and the report is delivered within 5-7 business days with the Excel model behind every estimate, so buyers can audit and change the assumptions.

The purchased delivery includes the PDF report, Excel datasets and customization around the buyer’s priority region, company set, application or commercial question.

What this research answers

The study connects production routes, named suppliers, applications, regional demand, trade, pricing drivers and commercial opportunities for this CAS number. Detailed estimates and company analysis remain inside the purchased report.