Weekly Trade Information-196

Vitamin C Price Rallies Kick Off; Vitamin E at Inflection Point

Prices of Vitamin C have staged a full market reversal and are expected to stay firm through year-end and into 2027. Vitamin E is currently standing at a critical turning point: distribution channels hold minimal inventory, while upstream producers carry no surplus stock. Raw material costs remain elevated alongside persistent supply shortages, leaving manufacturers unwilling to accept low-priced orders and highly motivated to prop up quotations.

Market prices are poised for a sharp rebound after upstream plants launch a two-month round of concentrated maintenance starting in late June.

(Source: Hangzhou Weigao)
 

From Energy Boost to Brain Nourishment: The Next Big Trend for the Coffee Industry

Coffee pulp extract refers to concentrated active ingredients refined via specialized processing from the fleshy pulp surrounding coffee beans inside coffee cherries.

Conventional coffee is made from roasted coffee beans, whereas coffee pulp, also known as coffee cascara, has long been discarded as agricultural waste. In fact, the pulp is loaded with beneficial polyphenols. The extract is produced by concentrating these valuable compounds for application in dietary supplements and functional foods.

It differs distinctly from cascara tea, which is prepared using whole sun-dried pulp. By contrast, coffee pulp extract undergoes targeted extraction to concentrate key bioactive constituents including chlorogenic acid and proanthocyanidins.

(Source: Food Research & Application FTA)
 

AI Fuels Innovation in Food Raw Materials; Clean Ingredients Become Dominant Industry Trend

Industry survey data released this week highlights two prevailing trends for health supplements and food additives. First, AI-enabled biosynthetic functional ingredients are seeing accelerated commercialization. A domestically developed AI-synthesized blood sugar-controlling peptide has obtained U.S. GRAS certification. Peptides and active amino acids are gradually replacing conventional chemically synthesized additives and emerging as staple raw materials for new supplement launches.

Second, clean-label formulation has turned into industry standard. Orders for natural sweeteners and plant-based antioxidant additives rose more than 18% month-on-month, while market share for synthetic additives keeps shrinking. Driven by global consumer demand for metabolic wellness and sugar management, blended nutritional fortifiers applicable to beverages and snacks are witnessing robust demand growth. Raw material manufacturers at home and abroad are ramping up investment in natural biosynthesis production lines.

(Source: Economic Information Daily)
 

EU to Unify Maximum Fortification Levels for Vitamins & Minerals, All Supplement Categories Facing Formulation Overhaul

Early in June, the EU finalized the timetable for new regulations governing dietary supplements and fortified foods. The European Commission intends to release a draft outlining maximum permitted levels for added vitamins and minerals for public consultation in Q3. Nutrient residual thresholds will be calculated based on population average daily dietary intakes to align permissible ingredient addition limits for health food products across all EU member states.

Upon enforcement of the new rules, high-dose multi-vitamin-mineral supplements will require formula revision, label restatement and renewed registration, prompting numerous European and American nutrition manufacturers to kick off product reformulation. Industry body FoodChain ID warns the regulation, due to take full effect in 2028, will restructure Europe’s raw material procurement landscape for supplements and trigger short-term structural shifts in import demand for vitamin and mineral-based food additives.

(Source: Nutrition Insight)
 

Middle East Conflict Exerts Noticeable Impacts on Global Container Shipping Market

According to ShippingAZ, statistics from Alphaliner demonstrate that the Middle East conflict has significantly affected worldwide container liner transport. Container capacity on Middle East trade lanes dipped 7.6% year-on-year, while capacity on alternative routes expanded sharply.

Alphaliner’s data shows total container capacity between the Middle East and India fell 7.6% versus last year, whereas Far East–Europe services, alongside Africa-linked routes, posted robust capacity expansion.

In detail, capacity on Africa-bound routes climbed 25.3% year-on-year; the Europe–Asia trade lane, already the world’s largest by deployed capacity, grew 8.5% over the same period.

Currently, 25% of the global containership fleet is allocated to Europe–Asia trades, making it the world’s top route for vessel deployment, up from 20.8% three years ago. Driven partly by overall expansion of the global container fleet, 36% of all newly added tonnage has been shifted to Far East–Europe services.
Per Alphaliner’s analysis: “This share is poised to rise further as long as vessels are barred from transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”

(Source: ShippingAZ)