Trends in product lines

Preservatives, antioxidants and antistaling agents

Sodium benzoate
The market price of sodium benzoate was 6,500-7,000 yuan per ton, but the internationally accepted price for low toxicity, high efficiency potassium sorbitate was more than 30,000 yuan per ton. The ten sodium benzoate producers had a capacity of 70,000 tons per annum, of which benzoic acid and sodium benzoate comprised 30,000 tons per annum at Wuhan Organic Chemical Industrial Co. In 2000 the actual output was over 60,000 tons nationwide , and exports more than 10,000 tons.

Potassium sorbitate
In the domestic market, cheap sodium benzoate was used in large quantities . The use of potassium sorbitate was limited and its production was mainly for export and developed quickly. Its global capacity was 36,000 tons per annum, and the US consumed 12,000 tons per annum at US$2 per pound . Producers in China increased in number from 20 up to about 50. In the fierce competition costs were lowered , and its price fell from 60,000 yuan per ton down to under 28,000 yuan per ton. Some producers ceased production, and those that remained expanded their production scale and were consolidated. Guangxi Nanning invested with Hoechst AG to enlarge its capacity from 1,000 to 4,000 tons per annum; Wuxi Daxin extended its capacity to over 3,000 tons per annum, and Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical Plant extended to 8,600 tons per annum, to become the largest domestic potassium sorbitate producer. As the export of domestic potassium sorbitate increased considerably, its price was low and it was fully competitive. Several large international companies, including Eastman announced that it would withdraw from the potassium sorbitate market, and Japan was in the process of closing down its potassium sorbitate enterprises .

Sodium isoascorbate
This was a biosynthetic antioxidant developed successfully in China in the 1990s and was able to replace the antioxidant vitamin C in meat products. The demand in the international market was about 120,000 tons: Japan consumed 800 tons per annum, and the domestic output was about 5,000 tons. Since the price of sodium isoascorbate was lower than for vitamin C, it tended to replace vitamin C in the food processing industry. With competition from foreign producers, the price of vitamin C abroad dropped from 120,000 to less than 60,000 yuan per ton, and if the price of sodium isoascorbate is not also reduced, it will be difficult for it to keep its foothold. The domestic price of sodium isoascorbate also fell due to competition, and its selling price decreased to 23,000 yuan per ton. Consequently, the number of domestic producers of sodium isoascorbate diminished from the original 20 “30 down to 3 “4, through selection of the superior and elimination of the inferior. The largest producer was Jiangxi Dexing Vita- min C Plant, which by continual improvement on technology and shortening of fermentation time, lowered its cost by a significant margin. Its mill price was less than 22,000 yuan per ton, and its output extended to 3,000 tons per annum. The next was Zhengzhou Biochemical Plant, with a yearly output of 1,000 tons.

Colourants

There were 56 varieties of colourant products by 1996, of which 10 were synthetic and 46 natural. China has approval of the largest number of natural pigments in the world besides Japan. The US and European Union had so far approved of 26 natural colouring matters. The total annual domestic output of colourants was 28,000 tons, of which 3,000 tons were synthetic and 25,000 tons natural.

Emulsifiers, thickeners and quality ameliorants

Xanthan gum
Among the producers of xanthan gum, the leaders are: Nanjing Jinhu, Shandong Zibo Zhongxuan and Shunda, Henan Tianguan, Qinyang and Xinhe, Shanghai Guoruun, Baoji Fuyang and Heilongjiang Gannan plants, whose capacity surpasses 6,000 tons per annum; their output was 4,000 tons in 2000.

A gap existed between the quality of domestic xan- than gum and that of foreign products, and the shortcomings were mainly yellowing of the colour, unevenness of the grains, high ash content, presence of moulds, and high yeast content. The domestic product was used chiefly at home, with a little for trial export, and the selling price at home was about 50,000 yuan per ton. Domestic production was on a small scale; the largest capacity was 2,000 tons per annum. National output was only 4,000 tons, a quarter of that of Kelco in the US, and therefore the sector lacked competitive power.

Monoglyceride
In the period of the ninth Five Year Plan, Guangzhou Light Industry Research Institute completed the key project of 'molecular distillation technology' for tackling its scientific and technological problems, put forward by the former State Science and Technology Commission, and a molecular distillation unit of 3,000 tons per annum has been constructed . The production of monoglyceride by molecular distillation progressed remarkably well in the latter part of the ninth Five Year Plan period, and there were already 10 domestic producers, four producing monoglyceride by molecular distillation, in Guangdong alone, in addition to the 5,000 tons per annum unit for monoglyceride by molecular distillation in Kunshan, owned by Danisk of Denmark.

In 2000 the output of monoglyceride by molecular distillation exceeded 10,000 tons, and with mutual competition its price fell from over 20,000 yuan per ton in 1997 to 15,000 “17,000 yuan per ton. In this way, further reductions in cost and mill price became the chief means of competition in the production of monoglyceride by molecular distillation.

High intensity sweeteners

Aspartane
With the limitations imposed by the Chinese government on the production and use of saccharin in 1999, the market for aspartane was broadened, and at the same time the National Food Additive Standardization Technical Committee revised its remarks on hygienic standards for the use of aspartane to include L-phenylalanine content, thereby dispelling misgivings on its use in the food industry. In 2000 the aspartane market enlarged, and producers intended to extend their capacity further. Two producers in Zhejiang planned to extend to 1,000 tons per annum each, and Hangzhou also increased its capacity. In Zhejiang Province alone the capacity of three aspartane producers reached 2,000 tons per annum. Indiscriminate expansion of production should be avoided, because although saccharin was limited in its use, and other sweeteners were not yet restricted, the price of aspartane was the highest for a unit of sweetness. Producers paid attention to technical input, saved energy, reduced consumption, and the cost of the raw materials decreased. The price of imported product was US$30 per kilogram, while that of the domestic product was 250 yuan per kilogram: definitely competitive.

The main raw material for domestic aspartane was L-phenylalanine, which once depended on imports. In 2000, on the basis of tackling key problems in the ninth Five Year Plan period, various places in China could produce L-phenylalanine themselves , with its quality reaching the FCC grade. This meant that the cost dropped from the former 200,000 to 130,000 yuan per ton, and the cost for one or two producers came down to less than 100,000 yuan per ton. The other raw material aspartate was produced domestically, with a selling price of 8,000 “9,000 yuan per ton. There was therefore the potential for further lowering the cost of domestic aspartane.

Stevioside
Total domestic output was slightly higher than in 1999, but the production was relatively contained. Its total capacity was 3,000 tons per annum, with an actual output of 1,100 tons and an export of 1,000 tons. In 2000 the largest stevioside producer was Shandong. Jining Huaxian Group purchased Lunan Stevioside Plant and capacity rose from 700 to 1000 tons per annum, becoming the largest stevioside producer in the world. This producer cultivated 150000 mu (1mu=
0.0667 hectares) of stevia and bred a new stevia variety, with a glucoside content of 18 per cent.

Nutritive sweeteners

Sorbitol
In 2000, Sorbitol was the edible sugar alcohol with the highest output and the widest use and 150,000 tons were consumed domestically in the year. In the past few years since the production of vitamin C increased, the demand for sorbitol increased, with an annual consumption of over 100,000 tons. It was also used as a humectant for toothpaste, with an annual consumption of 40,000 tons. The raw materials for the domestic sorbitol producers were expensive, and the producers were small, with an average output below 10,000 tons per annum, so their production costs were high. The domestic market price was 3,500-4,000 yuan per ton, but from the 1990s the import of sorbitol (mainly from France) increased year on year. In 1999 it came to 79,000 tons, and in 2000 it was 72,600 tons. The CIF price fell from US$500 per ton at the beginning of the year down to US$375 per ton. The production costs of most of the domestic sorbitol producers was over 3,500 yuan per ton. Due to lack of competitive power, although capacity was 300,000 tons per annum, the actual output was only 100,000. The domestic market consumed 160,000 tons of sorbitol, of which over 60,000 tons were imported.

Xylitol
50 “60 domestic xylitol producers had a capacity of over 30,000 tons per annum, but in line with market demand only 12,000 tons were produced in a year. Large scale producers were Tangyin Xylose Plant (capacity: 3,000 tons per annum, output of 2,400 tons per annum), Baoding Xylitol Co (capacity of 1,500 tons per annum) and Shandong Yucheng Guangda Group Xylitol Plant (2,000 tons per annum).

Isomaltol and erythritol
As the raw material cane sugar for isomaltol was cheap, China mastered the production technology for isomaltose. The characteristics of erythritol were similar to those of isomaltol, but it was made by fermentation of starch , without hydrogenation of sugar, so its capital construction investment was expected to be lower than for other sugar alcohols. In the FIA-FIC exhibition in Shanghai, a French company and Mitsubishi exhibited their respective crystalline erythritol products. China began research and development into erythritol, but no production was reported . Zhejiang Haizheng Pharmaceutical Industry Group adopted the technology of Beijing University, carried out production on a pilot plant scale, and displayed erythritol samples in the exhibition.