China's inositol exports gradually warmed up in 2010

Business News April 11th News China is the world’s largest inositol production and export country. According to customs statistics, China’s inositol exports reached 3,223 tons in 2010, a year-on-year increase of 26%; the average export price was US$9,170/ton, up from the same period of the previous year. The increase was 2.8%; the export amount was 30.48 million US dollars, an increase of 29% compared with the same period of last year, which changed the situation that the inositol alcohol exports gradually declined since the second half of 2008.

It is understood that before 2008, China's inositol export prices have gradually increased, but in the second half of 2008, the situation began to reverse, and export prices have been falling. On the one hand, affected by the international economic crisis, the demand of foreign buyers weakened; On the one hand, there are problems such as low utilization of raw materials, high energy consumption, inefficient use of by-products, and environmental pollution in China's enterprises. With the rebound in international market demand, inositol export prices have returned to stable levels in 2010, and exports have continued to rise, reaching a record high.

From the export market point of view, Asia, Europe and North America are the main areas of myo-inositol export. The total amount of exports to these three regions in 2010 amounted to US$27.09 million, accounting for 88.9% of China’s total inositol exports. Among them, the value of exports to Asia was 13.32 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 43.7%, an increase of 36.2% year-on-year. The main target markets in Asia are Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan. The value of exports to Europe was 7.05 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 23.1%, an increase of 14.3% over the same period last year. The main target markets in Europe are EU countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. The export volume to the North American region was 6.72 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 22% of the total, which was a year-on-year increase of 20.2%. The main target market in North America is the United States.

In 2010, China’s inositol alcohol exports grew rapidly in markets such as Singapore, the United Kingdom, and China’s Taiwan region. Exports in Australia fell a lot in comparison to the same period last year. Export prices increased in Singapore, China’s Taiwan region, and Belgium. The most significant decline is in Germany; the main export prices are Germany, Japan, Brazil, Singapore and Vietnam.

From the perspective of the export situation of the provinces, Shandong, Shanghai, Anhui and Jiangsu are the major provinces (cities) of myo-inositol exports. In 2010, Shandong ranked first in terms of export value, reaching 9.96 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 26.4% year-on-year; followed by Shanghai, which was US$7.39 million, an increase of 127.7% year-on-year; Anhui ranked third, with an export value of 5.74 million U.S. dollars; Alcohol exports account for only 10% of the country, but the largest number of export companies account for about 26% of the 140 inositol export enterprises in the country. In 2010, the fastest-growing export price of inositol products in China was in Fujian Province, and the export price increased by 10% year-on-year.

Private enterprises are the main force for the export of myo-inositol products in China. In 2010, the export value was US$ 26.63 million, accounting for 74% of the total. Zhucheng Haotian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Anhui Longkun Technology Development Co., Ltd., and DSM Vitamin Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. are the main enterprises for inositol export.