Chapter 6.5: The Food Additives Industry


Overview

Editorial Department, China Chemical News and China Chemical IndustryYearbook

There was a marked increase in the production of food additives in 2000 compared with 1999, with the exception of the restriction imposed by the government on the production and consumption of saccharin. The total output for the year reached 1.8 million tons, including products for the fermentation industry such as monosodium glutamate, citric acid, enzyme preparations , etc, a rise of 14 per cent over the preceding year. In 2000, production of several food additives increased significantly.

Table 6.5.1: Output of major food additives in 2000

Product

Output (thousand tons)

Monosodium glutamate

700

Citric acid

340

Enzyme preparations

250

Yeast

100

Flavouring essences and flavorants

35

Colourants

28

of which natural colouring matters

25

High-intensity sweeteners

44

of which saccharin

19.6

         Sodium cyclamate

20

         Stevioside

1.2

         Aspartane

1.2

         AK sugar

2

Nutritive sweeteners

112

         of which xylose and xylitol

12

         Sorbitol

100 (and 70 imported)

Preservatives and antioxidants

80

Nutrition enhancers

58

         of which vitamins

46

          mineral elements

12

Emulsifiers, thickeners and quality ameliorants

60

In order to prolong the quality guarantee period and shelf life of food, the output of preservatives and anti- staling agents rose sharply. In 2000, output of sodium benzoate came to about 70,000 tons; its domestic sale was around 50,000 tons, and over 10,000 tons were exported.

The catering business flourished in 2000. Its sales value was 263.8 billion yuan from January to September 2000 and was expected to exceed 370 billion yuan for the year. The domestic output of special flavourings based on sodium glutamate, guanylic acid (GMP) and inosinic acid (IMP) surged.

With improvements in quality of life, functional food additives (functional factors) and ingredients also increased.

It can be seen from Table 6.5.2 that the export of major food additives saw a substantial increase in 2000. Total export was 388,000 tons, 12.2 per cent more than the preceding year. Those with export volumes of over 10,000 tons and a large increase were: citric acid, with an increase of 12.3 per cent; citrates (12.2 per cent), benzoic acid and sodium benzoate (11.44 per cent), vitamin C (12 per cent) and monosodium glutamate (15.8 per cent), the highest increase.

Table 6.5.2: Export of major food additives in 2000
 

2000

1999

Product

Volume (tons)

Value (US$ million)

Volume (tons)

Value (US$ million)

Citric acid

225,415.7

188.70

183,312

159.43

Citrates

32,762

27.80

26,740

22.89

Lactic acid and lactates

3,720

3.90

4,249

5.30

Tartaric acid

4,107.6

10.16

2,350

3.42

Gluconic acid and gluconates

3,509.4

18.02

2,394

13.01

Monosodium glutamate

21,238

25.52

13,432

17.38

Mannitol

1,221.9

1.56

697

1.17

Benzoic acid and sodium benzoate

16,133.6

22.15

14,098

36.31

Saccharin

14,818.3

36.42

14,914.6

36.31

Natural flavorants

9,716

60.96

11,192

67.44

Vitamin C

34,675.9

173.88

28,793

146.26

Vitamin E

8,595.7

69.30

6,471

85.78

Sodium cyclamate

6,508.5

8.62

4,384

5.53

Live yeast

5,767.7

11.41

4,878

8.69

Total

388,090.9

647.57

317,905

588.443

Imports of major additives showed an increase of 5.9 per cent on 1999 (see Table 6.5.3).

Table 6.5.3: Import of major food additives in 2000
 

2000

1999

Product

Volume (tons)

Value (US$ million)

Volume (tons)

Value (US$ million)

Sorbitol

79,187

30.04

72,600

26.87

Propionic acid

9,109

5.51

10,364

6.36

Glutamic acid

7,293

6.01

15,818

10.09

Other amino acids

2,777

22.23

2,239

18.37

Arabic gum

725

1.71

639.8

1.00

Locust bean and guar gum

3,207

4.87

6,687

6.65

Total

102,298

70.37

108,347

69.33

Both import and export volume in 2000 were higher than the preceding year, but the FOB and CIF prices per unit of product were lowered . Competition in the global food additive market was very intense , and it was a case of survival of the fittest. Food additives companies abroad were carrying out readjustments, mergers and intensive operations to improve their competitive power. With imminent entry to the WTO, the domestic food additives industry must face new challenges: make efforts to improve quality, increase product variety and lower costs.

The total output of domestic food additives (including products from the fermentation industry) in 1991 was 476,000 tons, with a value of 5.2 billion yuan. In 2000 these figures went up to over 1.8 million tons (abut 20 billion yuan), so that in ten years output increased by 3.78 times and output value by 3.85 times.

Table 6.5.4: Production growth of key food additives (thousand tons)

Product

1991

1995

2000

Factor increase between 1992 and 2000

Monosodium glutamate

250

522

700

2.88

Citric acid

65

154

320

4.92

Sodium benzoate

4

 

70

17.5

Dietary gourmet powder

13.9

13

35

1.84

Colourants

3.2

11

28

8.75

Xylose and xylitol

2.7

6

12

4.44

Sorbitol

20

50

100

5.00

Vitamins

4

20

38

4.75




Doing Business with China
Doing Business with China
ISBN: 1905050089
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 648
Authors: Lord Brittan

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