China’s market situation for food additives

At present, there are 23 categories and more than 2000 varieties of food additives in China, including Acidity Regulators (such as Citric Acid monohydrate, Citric Acid anhydrous, Phosphoric Acid, etc), anti caking agents, defoamers, antioxidants (Vitamin C, Vitamin E, etc), bleaching agents, bulking agents, colorants, color protectants, enzyme preparations, flavor enhancers (Non Dairy Cremer), nutritional enhancers, preservatives (Potassium Sorbate, Potassium Citrate,etc), sweeteners (Sodium Saccharin, Acesulfame K, etc), thickeners, spices, etc.

With the rapid development of food industry in the world and the progress of chemical synthesis technology, the varieties of food additives continue to increase, and the output continues to rise. The prosperity of food industry drives the development of food additives. It is estimated that the annual growth rate of international sales of food additives in the next five years will be about 2.5 ~ 4%. The thickener will increase by 5%, and the annual demand of Xanthan Gum will rise to 170000 ~ 260000 tons, an increase of 5 ~ 7%. Preservatives will grow steadily, with the annual growth rate of Sorbic Acid 4-5% and Benzoic Acid 2-3%. The main antioxidants, BHA, BHT, DG and TBHQ, have increased by about 4%. Natural antioxidants will develop rapidly, and its sales volume is expected to exceed that of traditional synthetic preservatives in five years.

China is a big country in the use of food additives, with competitive products, but the total output value of China's food additives is still low. It accounts for only about 15% of the international trade. However, it has played an important role for a few varieties in the international market. Besides the natural flavor and flavor of the traditional export and the unique varieties of China, some modern varieties also show their excellent export competitiveness. At present, there are dozens of biosynthetic additives which have formed industrial scale in China, such as Citric Acid, Enzyme Preparation, Vitamin C(Ascorbic Acid), Nisin, Monosodium Glutamate and so on.

The market capacity of the whole industry is about half of the global's food additives market. Among them, three segments of flavor&spice, emulsifier and oxidant have a higher growth rate, which deserves our attention.