What are the main drivers of turbulence in Europe's adipic acid market from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026?

The main drivers are the European Commission’s prolonged and repeatedly delayed antidumping investigation against Chinese adipic acid imports—initiated in March 2025 following a complaint by Lanxess Deutschland and Radici Chimica—and major structural changes in European production capacity, including BASF’s mid-2025 cessation of ADA production at one site, its full acquisition of Alsachimie in May 2025, and the insolvency filing of DOMO Chemicals’ German subsidiaries in December 2025, culminating in DOMO’s complete exit from the ADA chain after Lone Star Funds acquired DOMO Engineered Materials and Radici Group’s specialty chemicals businesses in May 2026.

How did the EU antidumping investigation against Chinese adipic acid evolve between March 2025 and mid-2026, and what was its impact on market behavior?

The European Commission initiated the antidumping investigation in March 2025 after a January 2025 complaint; it repeatedly pushed back all procedural deadlines—including mandatory import registration (expected end-May 2025), provisional disclosure comments, and final disclosure comments—extending the final result by nearly 25 days and creating prolonged uncertainty; this led to a surge in Chinese ADA exports to Europe in April 2025 ahead of registration, resulting in sharply increased warehouse stocks rather than immediate market release, while duties were revised multiple times for specific Chinese producers including China Pingmei Shenma Energy Chemical Group International Trading, Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Chemical, and Shandong Hualu-Hengsheng Chemical.

Europe Adipic Acid Market Faces Turbulence Through Q2 2026

May 26, 2026

European adipic acid markets face turbulence through Q2 2026 due to EU antidumping probes and major capacity restructuring involving BASF and DOMO Chemicals. Rising upstream costs and weak downstream demand continue to squeeze producer margins.

icis

2026-05-26

Europe Adipic Acid Market Faces Turbulence Through Q2 2026

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