2019 China's raw material export data: plant extraction/amino acid/vitamin

Recently, the Medical Insurance Chamber of Commerce has released the "China Dietary Supplements Industry Development Report (2020)". Despite the influence of Sino-US trade frictions and other factors, my country's exports of dietary supplements will maintain a steady growth momentum in 2019, with total exports reaching US$1.88 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%.

Overview of main raw material exports

Among the specific export categories, the total export volume of amino acid raw materials increased significantly. Sodium glutamate, lysine esters, and threonine ranked among the top three, with exports amounting to US$62.872 million, US$53.954 million, and US$43.376 million. The year-on-year growth was 81.8%, 20.1% and -17.9% respectively. In addition, vitamin E, active yeast, and vitamin B12 also maintained a relatively high growth rate, and the export value of other raw materials all showed a large decline year-on-year.

In the export market, the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, Myanmar and Thailand are the main export regions of dietary supplements in my country, with exports of US$300 million, US$290 million, US$110 million, US$90 million and US$80 million, respectively. Affected by factors such as Sino-US trade frictions, China's export price competitiveness to the US has declined, and its exports to the US have decreased by 11.7% year-on-year.

Export of plant extracts

From 2010 to 2015, my country's export of plant extracts was in a period of rapid growth, while in 2016-2017 there was a large decline. Until 2018, the export of plant extracts ushered in growth again and achieved a historic breakthrough. Affected by the sharp decline in the export volume of the US market, the export volume of plant extracts in my country increased slightly by 0.19% to US$2.372 billion in 2019, and the export price also fell by 5.19%.

The United States, Japan, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Spain, Germany, and France are the top ten markets for the export of plant extracts in my country. In 2019, China's exports to the United States were US$ 451 million, which was a 14.9% year-on-year decline from the US$ 530 million in 2018. The main products exported are dietary supplement raw materials such as stevia leaf extract, licorice extract, ginkgo leaf extract, etc. .

Despite poor exports from the US market, markets such as India and Malaysia have shown substantial growth. In 2019, China's total export of plant extracts to India was US$130 million, an increase of 41.4% year-on-year, and its exports were mainly natural pigments and essential oils; its total export to Malaysia was US$130 million, an increase of 48.5% year-on-year, and its exports were stevia extracts . In addition, my country's exports of plant extracts to Spain, France, Mexico and other countries also increased by more than double digits year-on-year.

In terms of export varieties, the top ten popular varieties in 2019 are stevia leaf extract, menthol, eucalyptus oil, marigold extract, pepper extract, licorice extract, citrus young fruit extract, lingonberry extract, The total export value of rutin and ginkgo biloba extracts reached 1.214 billion US dollars, accounting for 51.2% of the total export value of extracts.

From the top ten varieties exported from 2014 to 2019, it can be seen that Stevia extract has been ranked first, eucalyptus oil, menthol, marigold extract, licorice extract, lingonberry extract, rutin, etc. in six The average annual ranking is in the top ten. Ginkgo biloba extract and pepper extract have been on the list for five years. The market demand for these varieties is relatively stable. Affected by the continued high heat of sugar reduction, eye protection, brain health and other markets, the future is still optimistic about the export situation of stevia, marigold, lingonberry and ginkgo leaves.

Vitamin exports

In 2019, the export value of vitamin raw materials was US$2.72 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 21.1%; the export price decreased by 21.7% year-on-year, and the price was US$9.5/kg. Judging from the export value of various types of vitamin raw materials in 2019, the foreign demand for vitamin E, vitamin C, and DL-pantothenic acid is very large, with exports amounting to 421.783 million U.S. dollars, 347.766 million U.S. dollars, and 31.139 million U.S. dollars.

Among them, the export of vitamin E rose more, up 35.2% year-on-year, far ahead of other categories. In 2019, the price of vitamin E was shocked by the combined effect of BASF's acquisition of Nent Technology and the reshaping of the market supply pattern and the impact of African swine fever on downstream demand. At the beginning of 2020, under the influence of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the supply of intermediates and vitamin E tightened, and the downstream demand gradually increased, and the price of vitamin E rose again. Under the general trend of demand recovery, if the global intermediate and vitamin E production line operating rate does not improve significantly, the price of vitamin E may continue to rise. It is expected that the global vitamin E demand in 2020 may exceed 100,000 tons.

In recent years, due to the overcapacity of the vitamin industry and the tightening of environmental protection policies, my country's vitamin C export volume and prices have continued to slump. In 2019, vitamin C export volume fell by 32.2% year-on-year.

Amino acid export situation

Since amino acid raw materials have a wide range of uses in the pharmaceutical industry, infant food, health food, feed additives and cosmetics industries, the export value has been showing a growing trend in the past few years. Sodium glutamate is monosodium glutamate, which is mainly fermented by corn, rice and other food crops. In 2019, the export value of sodium glutamate reached US$62.723 million, a year-on-year increase of 81.8%, mainly due to the favorable policy of 13% tax rebate.

Active yeast export situation

In 2019, the export volume of active yeast was US$23.264 million, with an increase of 9.6% year-on-year. Active yeast is a dry yeast product that is made of specially cultured fresh yeast and still retains strong fermentation capacity after being pressed, dried and dehydrated. It is widely used in baking, seasoning, winemaking, pharmaceutical, beauty and other fields.

Coenzyme Q10 export situation

China is currently the world's leading supplier of coenzyme Q10. China has five of the world's six largest suppliers of coenzyme Q10. According to statistics, the export value of my country's coenzyme Q10 in 2019 was 140.53 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 6.3%, mainly due to the impact of the US market, its largest export market.

Coenzyme Q10 is a popular raw material that has been very popular in recent years. It mainly has the functions of protecting the heart, skin care, anti-aging, anti-fatigue, and immunity enhancement. It has been widely used in various health foods worldwide and has a broad market prospect.

Fish oil exports

In 2019, the export value of my country's fish oil was 88.079 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 35.3%. Fish oil is a kind of oil extracted from fatty fish. It is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). It has the functions of regulating blood pressure and blood pressure, enhancing memory and Brain function and other functions.

Data from Allied Market Research shows that the global brain health product market size was US$3.5 billion in 2017, and this number is expected to reach US$5.81 billion in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.8% from 2017 to 2023. The popularity of the brain health product market has also promoted the popularity of fish oil raw materials. As one of the most important brain health raw materials in the minds of consumers, the use of fish oil products in various countries around the world is rising, whether in Asia, Europe, America, or Latin America. There is a great market demand for fish oil in the market.

Chondroitin export situation

In 2019, the export value of chondroitin raw materials in my country was US$15.334 million. Chondroitin, chondroitin sulfate, is mainly used in arthritis, eye drops, etc. It has analgesic effect and promotes cartilage regeneration. It has certain effects on improving degenerative arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in the elderly, and can improve joint problems. Due to the faster and faster pace of life in modern times, unhealthy lifestyles and habits, the number of joint pains is increasing, which further promotes the growth of chondroitin raw materials.