Antidumping Halted China's Lysine Export Growth in 2025

China's relentless growth in exports of the amino acid lysine was finally reversed in 2025. The value of exports fell more than the volume as AD actions by the EU, Brazil and the U.S. hit prices hard in the Chinese industry. Lower prices led to gains in dozens of other markets around the world, but the value of exports was down sharply.

Source: China customs data HS code 29224190.

Lysine is an essential amino acid that can be used in animal diets for protein synthesis to improve muscle growth and feed efficiency. China imported lysine and other amino acid feed supplements until the early 2000s, but China now produces an estimated 70% of the world's amino acids. In addition to lysine, China exports threonine, tryptophan, and methionine. 

China has the world's largest livestock herd, and China's agriculture ministry has been promoting domestic use of amino acids as a means of reducing use of soybean meal in animal diets. Yet domestic demand for lysine has been less dynamic than the export market. By my calculation, China exported 30% of the lysine it produced in 2019, and the share grew to 44% in 2023 (the last production figure available). An analysis by Chinese consultancy Boyar said antidumping duties were the factor that caused a steep drop in Chinese lysine prices last year. 

As growth in exports accelerated, the EU and Brazil began antidumping investigations of Chinese lysine during 2024. The United States announced an AD investigation May 28, 2025. 

During 2025 lysine exports to the EU--China's top market for the feed additive--fell by more than half. Exports to the United States and Brazil fell more moderately. Meanwhile, lower prices stimulated growth in exports to 68 countries led by India -- which surpassed the U.S. and Thailand to become the no. 2 market -- and Russia. 

Exports to the United States surged during May and June 2025, probably as buyers stocked up ahead of the antidumping investigation. Exports to the U.S. were impacted during October-December 2025.

China customs data, HS 29224190.