The
worldwide leading vitamin B12 manufacturer Hebei Yuxing was ordered by the
Chinese local government to suspend production from November 29 onwards. On the
one hand, the company had experienced an unannounced reexamination by
authorities, which did not approve the waste discharge technology in regards to
environmental pollution. On the other hand, the heating season in China has
begun, forcing especially pharmaceuticals manufacturers and other
major-polluting industries to suspend production in the winter months, when
heating processes are already polluting the air significantly.
According
to local Bureau of Environmental Protection in Hebei Province, the company
Hebei Yuxing is only allowed to resume production after receiving the approval
of authorities. An estimated time has not been announced yet.
Hebei
Yuxing produces food ingredients and additives for the Food and pharmaceuticals
industry. These main products besides vitamin B12 include Glucose Syrup, Oral
Glucose, Corn Plumule, Feed Powder, Dry Corn Gluten, and Corn Starch.
China's heating season
The
heating season in the northern part of China, where Hebei Yuxing is located, is
traditionally ranging from November to March. Hence, in this season, many
high-polluting industries, like pharmaceuticals, are forced to suspend their
production from the middle of November 2017 to the middle of March 2018, in
order to counter the high pollution caused already by the heaters. Many enterprises
are not allowed or only partly allowed to produce drugs and pharmaceutical
products for about 4 months in total, which is one quarter of the year.
The
government has published an announcement in early November, that states the
local authorities in China's northern provinces and cities should decide which
productions are going to be suspended, the duration of the suspension, and the
depth of the suspension for pharmaceutical enterprises.
According
to the announcement, active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production in
China's northern regions must be suspended if volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), are discharged. Notably, China is a major API-producing country, and
has the highest output and capacity of fermentation-type drugs in the world,
according to market intelligence form CCM. API production generates large
amounts of the three waste types waste gas, wastewater, and industrial waste,
and therefore causes serious pollution.
Rising competition from
the USA
The
vitamin B12 market has been growing at a significant rate in the ending year.
As a result of the prosperous outlook, the market is also expecting huge
investments in R&D from the government of the USA as well as from private
firms over the coming years. This could create some serious competition for the
market share of Hebei Yuxing.
The application scope
of vitamin B12
The
applications of vitamin B12 range from pharmaceuticals, food and beverages,
over animal feed, to cosmetics. The available forms of vitamin B12 are
multivitamins, B complex vitamins, and individual supplements.
Vitamin
B12 is the last discovered and structurally most complicated vitamin in the
B-complex. It is an essential water-soluble bright red vitamin, where 80% of
its amount in the human body is stored in the liver alone.
Vitamin
B12 is bound to protein in food, and it needs acid conditions to be released.
Stomach acid is exactly what plays the key role in vitamin B12 release.
Later its bounds to the intrinsic factor in the human body, which
ensures its absorption by the body in the small intestine. Unlike other
vitamins, this one is not quickly eliminated from the body. Instead, it is
stored by the liver for quite a long period of time. Therefore, it can take
several years till its deficiency becomes vivid.
About CCM
CCM
is the leading market intelligence provider for China's agriculture, chemicals,
and food and feed markets
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