EPCA 2025: Little change on the horizon for downbeat European MMA market

Sentiment in the European methyl methacrylate market was downbeat at the 59th European Petrochemical Association conference, with most players holding bearish outlooks for the remainder of the year and into 2026.

Among the main topics of conversation at was Trinseo's decision to pause MMA production at its 100,000 mt/year plant in Italy, first reported by Platts on Sept. 23.

Interpreted as a sign of the difficulties being faced by European petrochemical producers more broadly, the closure, which is scheduled to last for an indefinite period, was not expected to have any major impact on the ongoing length in the market.

This came as Roehm announced the successful commissioning of a new sulfuric acid plant at its Worms production site following fire damage sustained to the previous unit in 2023. As a key precursor for the production of MMA, the new sulfuric acid unit will feed into Roehm's 225,000 mt/year MMA plant at the site, where the company also has the capacity to produce 100,000 mt/year of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

Competitive MMA imports have also been arriving throughout the year from Asia and Saudi Arabia, which has been ratcheting up the pressure on European producers, particularly as traders pushed down offer levels because of intense competition to secure volumes amid ongoing weak demand.

Following supply tightness in summer 2024 new players decided to enter the market, which is now seen as overcrowded by many.

However, several traders and distributors intend to reduce their volumes in the market going forward because of losses sustained throughout the year amid a consistent downtrend in pricing.

One trader was heard to have requested the premature termination of their tank storage contract before it was due to expire in April, with one tank having remained empty for several months, according to a source.

Despite this, a Korean producer entering the European market as a new player was heard to be approaching customers and exports were planned to commence during October.

Regardless of changes to the supply landscape, most market participants accepted that demand is unlikely to increase in Q4 or 2026. Import volumes will remain a critical factor in determining price movements and there was uncertainty about how high these might be over the remainder of the year.

One trader said they planned to wait a couple of months before placing any new orders for import. They explained that players would be destocking in November and that by the time the shipments arrived in late December and early January, market prices might have recovered somewhat.

The latest offers for import from Korea were heard at $1,400/mt CIF ARA compared to $1,220/mt FOB China, for which a 6.5% import duty is also applicable. Chinese offer levels have been rising in recent weeks, attributed to domestic maintenances, restocking ahead of the Golden Week holidays in October, and unsustainable margins among producers who were heard to be operating at around 60%.

Platts last assessed the 3-30 day forward methyl methacrylate spot price at Eur1,350/mt Sept. 25, falling by approximately Eur1,090/mt since the time of last year's EPCA conference.