June 1, 2004

Construction of a Methionine Production Facility in China Begins
 

An eFeedLink Exclusive Report
 

In August 2003, China's Tianjin Jinyao Group Co Ltd has submitted a proposal to build a methionine production facility in Tianjin's economic development zone. The production facility would produce 50,000 tons of feed-grade methionine annually, and the initial work on the methionine production facility, which is expected to take two years, is now reportedly in progress.

With total investment reportedly at US$145 million, the production facility is expected to generate annual sales revenue of US$145 million.  The company expects the plant to break even in 8.4 years.    

Methionine is one of the key feed additives supplemented in animal feed. China's consumption of feed-grade methionine is the second largest in the world, after United States.

In recent years, China's annual methionine consumption (combined dl and liquid methionine) has had hovered around 70,000 tons, which is one-eighth of the overall global consumption. China currently relies fully on the imports of methionine for use in feed production.

Current global methionine consumption is in the region of 500,000 tons, which is expected to grow at a rate of 3% to 5%. It is mostly supplemented as an additive in poultry feed. China's feed production industry has grown from the few hundred tons in the early 1970s to become the second largest in the world.

Being a major poultry producer, and as more advanced poultry production methods are adopted, China's demand for methionine would grow continually in the coming years.