Stevia & stevioside China Industry Research Report

Stevioside, the main sweet component in the leaves of the Stevia plant, tastes about 300 times sweeter than table sugar. It has numerous benefits as a sweetener: it is 100% natural, stable, contains no calories and promotes good dental health by reducing sugar intake. It can be used by diabetics, obese persons and patients suffering from phenylketonuria, an illness which requires a strict diet without artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. As the incidence of type-2 diabetes and obesity is sharply increasing, stevioside is an excellent substitute for sugar. Stevia and stevioside have been permitted as food additives in Brazil, Korea, Japan and China. In the United States, they are permitted as a dietary supplement. Recently, large company groups, such as Cargil and Coco Cola have been making effort to widening the market of the United States, and the market potential for stevioside would be great, with the gradual opening of the US market. China has been the largest stevioside supplier in the world in recent years, though its domestic stevioside market is relatively small. In 2007, about 81% of China’s stevioside is exported. Both the stevia planting and stevioside production are undergoing changes in China in recent years, driven by the overseas demand trend. The increasing demand from the overseas market of high purity stevioside and A3 products, drives the development of domestic steviosdie industry, but the impact of this trend only limit to the large-scale stevioside producers who master the technology of high purity stevioside and A3 products, while for the small-scale enterprises, who can only produce ordinary stevioside, it is hard for them to get more befits from stevioside export. The plantation area of stevia leaves with high glycoside and A3 content will continue to expand in the future since 2007. And the proportion of common stevia leaves will continue to decline. This report provides an in-depth analysis of China’s stevia planting situation and stevioside production and market situation.