Herbridge,16 August 2010_Compared to international famous lutein manufacturers,there are many disadvantages in China lutein industry.The technologies still cann't contend against large international companies.But we have our advantages--cost and resources advantages.Lutein is approved to be used as food colour and nutrition fortifiers in 2007.Lutein ester is allowed to be used as a new food resource in 2008.Domestic manufacturers believe the lutein industry will have broad development.

Existing Circumstances

    Industry insiders described the lutein industry as disorder.Lutein has many versions and the quality varies extremely.Both the fair and unfair competition  lead to prices' decreasion in the past three years.10% lutein price varies between RMB200 and RMB300 per kg.

    Lutein is oil-soluble substances and can't applied directly in some food and beverages.Manufacturers should improve its water solubility and anti-oxidability.The technology is not mature in China.According to herbridge.com,Hua Rui Bio-Engineering is optimizing the production technologies of 5%-10% water-soluble lutein.InnoBio gains significant development in lutein production of 20% oil suspension,1-2% emulsion and 5-10% dispersed powder in cold water.

    While lutein manufacturers are considering or taking actions to creat lutein end-products,most firms are acting as material suppliers with the restraint of domestic conditions and technologies.

Application 

    XuFengjun,General manager,Hua Rui Bio-Engineering told Herbridge.com,as the lifestyle changes,people are exposed to serious enviroment pressures,presenting treats to eyes.Lutein provides benefits for retina and cardiovascular health.Which expands the applications.He added,the industry has good scope of growth in fields of pharmaceutical,health product and pigments.

    According to herbridge.com,lutein is approved to be used as food additives in 2007.Lutein ester is regarded as a new food resource in 2008.Manufacturers in beverages and food and health food industry are playing importance to add these ingredients in their products with the influence of international applications.

Resource

    The lutein industry develops rapidly in China.Which is mainly attributed to abundant resources.Marigold is wildly planted in Northeast,Yunnan,Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia in China.The harvest time varies slightly in different areas.Generally,it begins in Mid-July and finishes in late August.Gu,Marketing manager,InnoBio said,"The deduction of planting areas associated with not nice growth make it possible for  the demand to exceed the supply this year."

    According to herbridge.com,the price paid to farmers last year was very low and thus dampened farmers' enthusiasm to produce;The hike in food crops' prices encourage farmers to plant crops instead of marigold.Moreover,corn plantation is easier than planting marigold.The complicated climates affect the planting and harvest in each planting region in 2010.In a word,the planting areas decrease and the harvest is not good this year.The prices for fresh flowers and extractum see increase.Fresh flowers' prices rise to 800-900RMB/t  compared to 600-700RMB/t in former years."The prices rise,but will not sharply.Not until the harvest season finished can we know the future market."

    Source:Herbridge.com