Summary: China's glufosinate-ammonium TC market has been depressed in 2023; for a long while, the price of glufosinate-ammonium TC was on the decline. The price rebounded in Nov., backed up by the producers' determination to end the price fall. Although a continuous bounce lacked solid support in Dec., the producers still held a positive view in the long-term development. Many of these companies have actively engaged in improving production technology for glufosinate-ammonium TC as well as in developing glufosinate-P business, in order to seize greater market share and reap more benefits.

Glufosinate-ammonium, as a main herbicide for genetically modified (GM) crops, has received much attention like glyphosate and dicamba in China in 2023, though the ex-works price of glufosinate-ammonium TC followed a downward trend for most of the time this year due to sluggish downstream demand. Besides, with large-scale new capacity put into operation in recent years, the once lucrative glufosinate-ammonium TC business saw nosedive in profits. Seeing this, Chinese glufosinate-ammonium TC producers ramped up efforts in technological transformation, especially in technologies to improve the synthesis of key intermediates, so as to increase yield and reduce costs. In addition, they stepped into business of glufosinate-P TC, a product with higher added value. This does not mean these glufosinate-ammonium TC producers hold a negative view of glufosinate-ammonium market. In fact, more companies will upgrade their glufosinate-ammonium TC production lines in China in 2024, along with the release of new glufosinate-P TC capacity.

Price trend of glufosinate-ammonium TC in 2023

Despite plunging profits, glufosinate-ammonium TC producers actively seek development via technological transformation and product upgrade

Following the nosedive in the price, profit margin of glufosinate-ammonium TC business has greatly contracted in recent years. The Dec. 2023 price is about 76% less than the Jan. 2022 price. The biggest glufosinate-ammonium TC producer Lier Chemical Co., Ltd. (Lier Chemical) is thus hit the hardest by the price fall. The company reported 22.42% YoY decline in its revenue in the first three quarters in 2023, and the net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent company down 62.47% YoY in the same period. Many other glufosinate-ammonium TC producers also reported decreases in profits from glufosinate-ammonium TC business, some even revealed short-term losses in the business.

The price fall is a natural result of the release of new capacity in recent years. The age of huge profits in this business is gone for ever. In the face of thinner profits, the glufosinate-ammonium TC producers have tried hard to boost profits through technological transformation and product upgrade.

Through technological transformation, glufosinate-ammonium TC producers can reduce production costs and thus fatten the profits. Major producers such as Lier Chemical and Jiangsu Sevencontinent Green Chemical Co., Ltd. (Jiangsu Sevencontinent) have achieved positive results in raising productivity and cutting costs via improving production process. It is reported that in 2021–2022, Lier Chemical cut the production costs from RMB60,000 (USD8,438) per tonne to RMB50,000 (USD7,032) per tonne by switching from Grignard reaction to aluminium method in the production of the intermediate methyldiethoxyphosphine, which spares the trouble of recovering 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, increases yield and product quality, reduces the use of organic solvents, and cuts VOCs emissions and wastewater discharge. The intermediate methyldichlorophosphine (MDP) used in Jiangsu Sevencontinent's glufosinate-ammonium TC production is provided by its subsidiary Honghu Yitai Technology Co., Ltd. The subsidiary has improved the technology for MDP synthesis and helps Jiangsu Sevencontinent reduce the production costs to some extent.

Chinese glufosinate-ammonium TC producers also have their eyes on glufosinate-P TC. As of late 2023, there are only two active glufosinate-P TC producers in China—Lier Chemical and Yongnong BioSciences Co., Ltd. (Yongnong BioSciences). Yet the majority of glufosinate-ammonium TC producers have obtained pesticide registration certificates for glufosinate-P TC products. According to Lier Chemical, both glufosinate-ammonium and glufosinate-P are believed to enjoy a good prospect. By the end of 2023, the company has: in glufosinate-ammonium TC business, completed bringing down production costs and acquired registration certificates for a variety of glufosinate-ammonium products; in glufosinate-P TC business, built up 20,000 t/a enzyme route glufosinate-P TC capacity in Jinshi City of Hunan Province. It expects another 10,000 t/a glufosinate-P TC capacity (in Jinzhou City of Hubei Province) will come into operation in 2024. Limin Group Co., Ltd. (Limin Group) also expressed its optimistic view on the glufosinate-ammonium market in the future. Limin Group's subsidiary Hebei Veyong Bio-chemical Co., Ltd. (Veyong Bio-chemical) acquired government approval of the environmental impact report of the 1,000 t/a glufosinate-ammonium technological transformation and 10,000 t/a glufosinate-P construction project (phase I) in Sept. 2023. Veyong Bio-chemical adopts a process combining continuous gas-phase method and biological continuous catalytic method, and makes full use of existing equipment. The project has come into equipment installation and commissioning stage; trial run is expected to start before the 2024 Spring Festival.