The German acrylamide market has sustained an inclining trend in the first half of March 2025, following the similar trend observed in the previous weeks. Higher production costs have been the major driver for this trend, as looking at the upstream markets, acrylonitrile prices have registered an upward course due to rising manufacturing costs, pressured by higher energy prices and rising freight rates.

On the other hand, the demand for acrylamide from the downstream water treatment sector has been underwhelming due to various reasons. Sluggish consumption, economic uncertainty, and declining competitiveness are at the forefront of what has significantly impacted the acrylamide market. The law on water safety and quality has also influenced the acrylamide demand, as industries are focused on complying with strict EU regulations, especially for water treatment chemicals and filter media.

Germany has been concentrating on regulating the chemical sector to align itself with carbon neutrality goals and tight EU regulations, with the water treatment chemical sector especially facing continued headwinds due to tough laws. With Germany’s goal to achieve good status for all water bodies by the year 2027, several management plans have been set up, but the present scenario has created several hurdles.

According to the latest data, Germany’s industrial activities continued to observe severe contraction as output, new order growth, and export sales decreased further. Acrylamide is widely utilized in industrial wastewater treatment, and with contraction in the manufacturing activities, the utilization of acrylamide drops significantly. The wider industrial environment is facing muted activity coupled with lowered budgets for wastewater management solutions caused by ongoing economic challenges.

In recent times, the market participants are also focused on Russia-Ukraine peace talks and threat of tariffs. The impact of US tariffs on Germany could be tragic, as it may push Europe’s largest economy into recession. Tariffs could further worsen the already stagnant economy that has continued to face headwinds post-covid.

According to analysts, the outlook for 2025 is presumed to remain impacted by geopolitical headwinds and poor economic sentiments in the region. Production of chemicals like Acrylamide is also foreseen to register contraction this year. Analysts anticipate that sales and producer prices could also decline. Over the past few years, the German chemical sector has been struggling with weak demand, higher energy costs and supply chain struggles.

As per the ChemAnalyst pricing intelligence, a stable pricing trend is foreseen in the German acrylamide market, backed by improvement in new orders and better business sentiments. Moreover, high energy prices and supply chain struggles could have a further impact on the acrylamide market.