China's grip on key food additive
Vitamin C prices have spiked this year. China controls 80 percent of the market.
from the July 20, 2007 edition
Page 4 of 4
The quick shift this year in the ascorbic-acid market is having a ripple effect on some distributors. For example, the Shanghai Solidarity Chemical Industry Co. stopped dealing in ascorbic acid in May because the price was so unstable.
"Producers won't give you a price," says Bruce Yin, the firm's export sales manager. "If they sign a contract today at one price and then the price rises, they need to re-set the price, so lots of distributors are not doing [vitamin C] business anymore."
DSM, the only Western producer, says its Scottish factory can't keep up with demand. "We're getting all kinds of calls from people we have never dealt with," says Alexander Filz, a spokesman in Basel, Switzerland. "Something dramatic is going on."
The Manifold Uses of Vitamin C
Vitamin C:
•Maintains food appearance and degradation, acts as meat reddening agent, prevents drink discoloration, and improves bread texture and loaf size.
• Is used in cosmetics for its anti-aging, antioxidant, and skin-lightening properties.
Vitamin C Imports from China to US: Historic Prices (kilograms)
2000: $5.00
2001: $3.25
2003: $3.50 to $6.75
2005: $3.50
2007: (Jan-June):$3.40 -$11
Source: National Institutes of Health, Institute of Medicine, the National Academies, Linus Pauling Micronutrient Information Center, Tekeda, Business Monitor International
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