Market evolution: Imides and imines (CN 2925) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report analyses the evolution of EU trade in CN 2925 — Carboxyimide-function compounds (including saccharin and its salts) and imine-function compounds — over the period 2015–2025. The product scope covers five subheadings: saccharin and its salts (292511), glutethimide (292512), other imides and derivatives (292519), chlordimeform (292521), and other imines and derivatives (292529). Over the full decade, the EU's external trade in these products grew substantially in value — exports rose 71.7% and imports 70.8% — but this headline figure masks deep structural shifts in volumes, prices, partner concentration, and domestic production that together tell a story of a market in transformation.

1. A decade of diverging volumes and prices

EU export value grew faster than volume, driven by rising unit values

Between 2015 and 2025, EU exports of CN 2925 rose from €241.6 million to €414.9 million (+71.7%), while exported quantities grew only from 24,479 t to 29,046 t (+18.7%). The trade overview shows that the average export price climbed from €9,858/t to €14,280/t (+44.8%), peaking at €19,073/t in 2022. This indicates that the EU increasingly occupied the higher-value segments of the market, exporting more specialised or higher-purity products.

Import volumes nearly doubled while unit prices declined

EU imports tell the opposite story. Import values grew from €200.5 million to €342.4 million (+70.8%), but volumes surged from 32,903 t to 62,767 t (+90.8%). Average import prices actually fell 10.5%, from €6,091/t to €5,453/t. This divergence — rising volumes, falling prices — is characteristic of increasing import competition from lower-cost producers, particularly in commodity-grade imine compounds.

The imines sub-segment (292529) drove the import volume explosion

The product segment breakdown reveals that the growth in import volumes was almost entirely concentrated in imines and their derivatives (292529), whose imports ballooned from 16,434 t to 54,976 t (+235%). By contrast, imides other than saccharin (292519) saw import volumes decline from 12,314 t to 4,543 t (−63%), and saccharin (292511) imports remained broadly flat (4,111 t → 3,248 t). The price of imported 292529 fell from €6,823/t to €4,563/t (−33%), confirming the commoditisation trend. On the export side, 292529 also dominated, representing 360,852 thousand EUR in export value by 2025 — 87% of all CN 2925 exports — but with export volumes relatively stable around 20,000–22,000 t and prices rising from €11,514/t to €17,202/t.

2. China's growing role and rising partner concentration

China became the overwhelmingly dominant source of EU imports

The partner data shows a dramatic concentration of EU imports toward China. Chinese imports into the EU rose from €74.8 million (37% of extra-EU imports) in 2015 to €181.8 million (53%) in 2025, a +143% increase. China's peak was €220.1 million in 2022, coinciding with the global energy and raw-material price spike. Meanwhile, Japan — previously the second-largest supplier — saw its share collapse from €23.3 million to €8.8 million (−62.5%). Indonesia surged from €1.9 million to €11.3 million (+483%), becoming a notable new source.

The export market saw a spectacular rise in EU–China flows

On the export side, EU exports to China surged from €16.5 million to €145.9 million (+782%), peaking at €239.1 million in 2022. This made China the EU's largest single export destination for CN 2925 by 2025, overtaking the United States (€83.3 million). This reflects a two-way trade pattern: the EU imports high-volume, lower-cost imines from China while simultaneously exporting higher-value, specialised products back. Türkiye (+131%), Israel (+43%), and Japan (+27%) also grew as export markets, while Brazil declined (−21%).

Import and export concentration both increased significantly

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index confirms a marked concentration effect. Import concentration by value rose from 2,001 to 3,101 (+55%), and by volume from 2,329 to 4,885 (+110%). Export concentration by value also climbed from 1,170 to 1,789 (+53%). An HHI above 2,500 typically signals a highly concentrated market; the EU's import structure now exceeds this threshold, largely due to China's dominance. Import concentration by volume is particularly elevated at nearly 4,885, suggesting that the few tonnes imported from China carry disproportionate volume weight relative to their price.

3. EU production surged and the bloc shifted from net importer to net exporter

Domestic production grew faster than trade

The production data shows that EU production of CN 2925 expanded from 20.5 million kg (€143.5 million) to 48.4 million kg (€444.3 million) — a +136% increase in volume and +210% increase in value. Production peaked at 88.6 million kg and €635.7 million in an intermediate year, indicating some cyclical volatility. This expansion substantially outpaced the growth in imports, suggesting that EU producers — concentrated in Germany (RCA 1.65), France, the Netherlands (RCA 1.66), and Spain (RCA 1.57) — scaled up capacity significantly.

The EU swung from net importer to net exporter

Net import reliance reversed from +21.4% in 2015 (meaning the EU was a net importer on a production-weighted basis) to −24.1% in 2025 (net exporter). The swing was even more pronounced at its peak, reaching −41.6% at one point. This structural shift was accompanied by a rise in export propensity from 57.8% to 104.3% and in trade intensity from 77.2% to 102.3%, indicating that the EU's CN 2925 sector became deeply integrated into global value chains in both directions.

France led the export expansion while Poland and Belgium surged in imports

Among EU Member States, France dominated exports, growing from €91.6 million to €171.9 million (+87.7%), and peaking at €289.6 million. Germany was the second-largest exporter (€75.9M → €126.1M, +66%). On the import side, the Netherlands saw the most dramatic growth (+122%, from €34.9M to €77.5M), followed by Belgium (+255%, €5.9M → €21.0M) and Poland (+276%, €10.1M → €38.1M). France was the only major Member State where imports declined (−19%), consistent with its increasingly export-oriented profile.

Conclusion

Over 2015–2025, the EU's trade in CN 2925 underwent a fundamental transformation. The bloc shifted from being a net importer to a net exporter, powered by a near-tripling of domestic production. This was not simply a volume story: export prices rose 45%, reflecting the EU's move toward higher-value, specialised products, while import prices fell 11% as China consolidated its position as the dominant low-cost supplier of imines (292529). The result is an increasingly polarised trade structure — high volumes of cheap imines flowing in from China, high-value specialised products flowing out to China and the United States — with rising concentration risk on the import side (HHI reaching 3,101 by value). While the EU's improved net-exporter position and strong production growth suggest growing strategic autonomy in this segment, the heavy dependence on a single supplier for bulk imports remains a structural vulnerability, particularly in the event of supply disruptions or trade-policy shifts.