Glycolic acid
Drug ingredientCAS 79-14-1
This drug ingredient has classified U.S. production volumes. EPA withholds the number as confidential business information.
US productionCBI
Confidential Business Information. The EPA withholds this volume because publishing it could reveal the reporting company's trade secrets.
Import value, 2024$81M
Top sourceChina 35%
At least one company claimed its 2023 production or import volume for this chemical as confidential, so EPA withholds it.
Why supply is unknownProduction is reported production, not a complete census of factories. US production volume is confidential. Production reporting year: 2023. Import value and source-country shares describe a shared customs category, not a separate chemical measurement.
Where It Comes From
Customs basis: HS 291819 · basket
EPA reports by year
- 2023
- US production Confidential · Imports Confidential
- 2019
- US production Confidential · Imports Confidential
These shares come from HS customs code 291819, which covers 96 tracked chemicals in total. They estimate the category's origin mix, not this chemical specifically.
Source Countries
Country of origin for US imports, from Census customs data (2024).
CN 35%ChinaIN 34%IndiaIT 9%ItalyDE 9%GermanyJP 4%Japan
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
- Colombia
- Taiwan
- Belgium
- Israel
- Sweden
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Slovakia
EPA-registered manufacturers (2)
Companies that report making or importing this chemical to the EPA. Registration is US-centric and does not indicate import origin.
Macdermid
Puretech Scientific
Domestic parents -- activity not disclosed (9)
EPA records name a US company for this chemical but do not disclose whether the company made it here or imported it.
Aurorium
Brenntag
Cellmark Basic Materials
Chemours
Coast Southwest
Show all 9
Harcros Chemicals
Optima Chemical Group
Phibro Animal Health
Wintersun International
EPA-registered importers (10)
Companies that report making or importing this chemical to the EPA. Registration is US-centric and does not indicate import origin.
Brenntag · DE Germany
Ambyth Chemical
Catalynt Solutions
Chemical Distribution Network
Greenchem Industries
Show all 10
Independent Chemical
Silver Fern Chemical
Solenis
Superior Industrial Solutions
Wego Chemical Group
2 FDA-registered drug labelers
ANUBIS COSMETICS SL
Beijing JUNGE Technology Co., Ltd.
Why It Matters
Sectors
HealthFoodEnergyConstructionMetals & MiningPlastics & RubberTextilesConsumer ProductsCore Chemicals
Downstream Uses
Appears in 3 drug and cosmetic product listings (FDA).
- •Feelshion Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Face Pads
- •Anubis Barcelona New Even
- •AnubisMed
FDA Shortage Status
Whether any manufacturer currently reports this drug as in shortage on the FDA Drug Shortages database. "Active Shortage" means at least one presentation has status "current."
No FDA shortage records
Industrial Uses
Used in 12 sectors as 14 functional roles.
- •Cleaning agent in Soap, Cleaning Compound, and Toilet Preparation Manufacturing (33%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Monomers in Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (4%)Processing—incorporation into article
- •Anti-scaling agent in Petroleum Refineries (51%)Use—non-incorporative activities
- •Deodorizer in Soap, Cleaning Compound, and Toilet Preparation ManufacturingProcessing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •pH regulating agent in Food, beverage, and tobacco product manufacturing (30%)Use—non-incorporative activities
- •Cleaning agent in All Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (1%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Intermediate in Petroleum Lubricating Oil and Grease Manufacturing (1%)Processing as a reactant
- •Intermediate in All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing (2%)Processing as a reactant
- •Intermediate in Plastics Material and Resin Manufacturing (3%)Processing as a reactant
- •Cleaning agent in All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing (14%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Intermediate in All Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (56%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Plating agent in Primary Metal Manufacturing (1%)Use—non-incorporative activities
- •Processing aids, specific to petroleum production in Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (1%)Use—non-incorporative activities
- •Processing aids, specific to petroleum production in All Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (5%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Etching agent in All Other Chemical Product and Preparation ManufacturingProcessing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Plating agent in All Other Chemical Product and Preparation ManufacturingProcessing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Chelating agent in All Other Chemical Product and Preparation ManufacturingProcessing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Cleaning agent in Oil and Gas Drilling, Extraction, and Support activitiesProcessing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Catalyst in Adhesive Manufacturing (100%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Dye in Textiles, apparel, and leather manufacturing (50%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Solvent in All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing (100%)Processing—incorporation into article
- •Monomers in All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing (35%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Polymerization promoter in All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing (40%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
- •Cleaning agent in Primary Metal ManufacturingProcessing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
Vendor Pricing
$0.03/gAaron Chemicals LLC
CountryHong Kong
Pack$15.00 / 500 g
Purity97%
Vendors28 available
Prices reflect listed pack sizes. Small research packs run far above bulk rates.
27 more vendors
| Vendor | Country Supplier country. Where available, shows shipping origin. When the supplier ships from a different country than where they are registered, both are shown. Most suppliers show registration country only. | $/g | Pack | Purity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A2B Chem LLC | United States | $0.03 | 500 g | 98% |
| Angene Chemical | China → Hong Kong | $0.04 | 500 g | 97% |
| AA BLOCKS | United States | $0.04 | 500 g | 98% |
| Ambeed, Inc. | United States | $0.13 | 500 g | 98% |
| Apollo Scientific UK | United Kingdom | $0.18 | 500 g | 98% |
| AK Scientific Specialized | United States | $0.21 | 500 g | 95% |
| Sigma-Aldrich (Rush Stock) | Germany | $0.22 | 12 kg | 99% |
| Sigma-Aldrich | Germany | $0.22 | 12 kg | 99% |
| Combi-Blocks, Inc. | United States | $0.25 | 1 kg | 98% |
| AK Scientific, Inc. | United States | $0.28 | 500 g | 99% |
| Fluorochem UK | United Kingdom | $0.38 | 500 g | 98% |
| AstaTech, Inc | United States | $0.39 | 100 g | 95% |
| ALFA AESAR | Germany | $0.49 | 500 g | 98% |
| Angene International Limited | United States | $5.80 | 30 g | 99% |
| MedKoo Biosciences, Inc | United States | $10.00 | 25 g | 98% |
| Interbioscreen | Hong Kong | $10.00 | 10 g | 95% |
| Molnova | China | $43.00 | 1 g | 99% |
| TargetMol Chemicals | China → United States | $48.00 | 1 g | 98% |
| MedChemExpress MCE | Sweden | $75.02 | 1 g | 99% |
| Otava, Ltd. | Ukraine | $460.00 | 250 mg | 90% |
| Otava, Ltd. (2 weeks) | Ukraine | $2724.00 | 50 mg | 90% |
| Key Organics Ltd. | United Kingdom | $2740.00 | 50 mg | 95% |
| Princeton BioMolecular Research (SC) | United States | $2900.00 | 100 mg | 90% |
| Vitas M Chemical Limited | Hong Kong | $3170.00 | 100 mg | 90% |
| Angene | China → Hong Kong | $4266.67 | 30 mg | 97% |
| Asinex | Netherlands | $6461.40 | 100 mg | 90% |
| TimTec, LLC (back-ordered) | United States | $32000.00 | 15 mg | 94% |
Chemical Identity
CAS79-14-1
PubChem CID757
DTXSIDDTXSID0025363
FormulaC2H4O3
Mol. Weight76.05 g/mol
SMILESC(C(=O)O)O
Data Sources
- EPA CompTox (DSSTox) · DTXSID0025363Retrieved 2026-04-06
- PubChem · compound 757Retrieved 2026-04-06
- EPA Chemical Data ReportingReporting year: 2023 · Retrieved 2026-10-04
- FDA National Drug Code directoryRetrieved 2026-04-07
- US Census international tradeReporting year: 2024 · Retrieved 2026-10-04
Brief citations
Glycolic acid (CAS 79-14-1) https://chemicalindependence.com/chemical/79-14-1/ EPA CompTox (DSSTox): DTXSID0025363. Retrieved 2026-04-06. https://comptox.epa.gov/dashboard/chemical/details/DTXSID0025363 PubChem: 757. Retrieved 2026-04-06. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/757 EPA Chemical Data Reporting: 79-14-1. Reporting year: 2023. https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting FDA National Drug Code directory: CAS 79-14-1. Retrieved 2026-04-07. https://open.fda.gov/data/ndc/ US Census international trade: HS 291819 for CAS 79-14-1. Reporting year: 2024. https://usatrade.census.gov/