Summary: From 2022 - 2024, China's vitamin D3 exports to EU
faced hurdles. Blocked by regs in 2022, re-entered in 2023, then reported for banned
stuff in 2024. EU market relied on certain traders & producers, with rising
price expectations. Domestic and foreign industries reacted: domestic firms
hiked prices & quality, traders widened channels; EU end-users changed
procurement, some firms pushed EU to boost local competitiveness. EU prices may
rise short-term, fall long-term with supply shifts, possibly reshaping global
market.
Vitamin D3 has a customs code of
2936901000. It is an active form of vitamin D. It is synthesized from
7-dehydrocholesterol in the human skin under the irradiation of ultraviolet B
(UVB), which is an important way for the human body to obtain vitamin D3. In
addition, it can also be obtained from some foods, such as deep-sea fish,
animal livers, etc., and it is also a common form in vitamin D supplements.
Vitamin D3 is a common form in vitamin D
supplements due to its characteristics such as being synthesizable by the human
skin, having high activity, a strong binding ability to receptors, and being
effective in promoting calcium absorption and calcium-phosphorus metabolism.
In 2022, many EU countries, citing
non-compliance with relevant regulatory access requirements, caused obstacles
to the export of vitamin D3 from China. This affected the vitamin D3 export
production of Zhejiang Garden Nutrition Technology Co., Ltd. in Jinhua.With the joint efforts of multiple
departments, the General Administration of Customs of China raised a special
trade concern to the World Trade Organization, promoting the EU to modify its
access regulations. In 2023, China's vitamin D3 re-entered the EU market.According to the news from the Rapid Alert
System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the EU, on December 6, 2024, the EU reported
that the exported hydroxyvitamin D3 from China was unqualified because it was
found to contain the prohibited substance chloramphenicol (>0.26µg/kg). The
reporting country was Lithuania, and the status was that there was no
distribution in the notified country, with a trade ban and a sales ban.
As a result, the entire European market is
highly dependent on a few traders who have close relationships with producers
and producers who have inventory in Europe. After NHU announced the latest
price of vitamin D3 at 75 euros per kilogram, more and more people in the
market have come to believe that the price of D3 will further increase, and the
prices quoted by second- and third-tier brands have also been raised to around
45 euros per kilogram.
In response to this, the domestic and
foreign industries have taken corresponding actions.Some domestic enterprises have increased
the price of vitamin D3. For example, domestic enterprises such as Garden
Biotech have adjusted the market price. The current mainstream price of vitamin
D3 in the domestic market this week is between 250 and 270 yuan per kilogram.Enterprises are paying more attention to
improving product quality to ensure compliance with EU standards. They are
collaborating with professional institutions to conduct in-depth research on EU
regulations and improve the production process and quality inspection system.Traders are closely monitoring market
dynamics and policy changes, actively seeking qualified partners within the EU
to expand trade channels. For traders with inventory, under policy
restrictions, they are reasonably controlling the shipment rhythm according to
market demand and price trends to obtain better profits.
European end-users have adopted a "buy
as needed" procurement strategy due to the price increase, and the
inventory at all levels of end-users is extremely low. Some users have started
to look for products with relatively lower prices, and the demand for products
of second- and third-tier brands with relatively lower prices has increased
somewhat.Some enterprises hope that the EU will
regard vitamins as "key materials" and call on the EU to take policy
measures to enhance the competitiveness of EU feed additive producers and
reduce the strategic dependence on external supplies such as those from China.At the same time, there may be an increase
in investment and research and development efforts in the production of vitamin
D3 to seek the diversification of the supply chain.
According to the market observations of the CCM market intelligence platform, in the short term, due to limited supply
and relatively stable demand, the price of vitamin D3 in the EU market may
continue to rise. In the long term, if the EU increases production investment
internally and the global market supply pattern changes, the price may decline.
However, affected by production costs and policy factors, price fluctuations
will still exist.
The EU's policy restrictions may prompt
adjustments to the global vitamin D3 market pattern. Non-EU producers may gain
more market share, and some enterprises with production bases or cooperative
relationships in the EU will have a more competitive advantage.
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