Summary
In early 2026, China's biotechnology, functional food raw material and seed industries witnessed steady progress and structural upgrades. Multiple new functional food ingredients obtained regulatory approval or filing acceptance, while leading dietary fiber enterprises achieved robust revenue and profit growth through product optimization and capacity expansion. Meanwhile, trade frictions, raw material cost hikes and industry oversupply brought operational pressure to related manufacturers. Driven by national policies, biological breeding industrialization has accelerated, and independently developed domestic breeding chips have effectively reduced R&D costs, empowering the high-quality development of the whole agricultural industry chain.
I. Breakthroughs of Novel Food Raw Materials Enrich Functional Product Supply
Chinese authorities have accelerated the review and approval of novel food raw materials at the start of 2026, injecting new momentum into the healthy food and functional ingredient markets.
Alginate oligosaccharide was officially approved as a new novel food raw material after passing the safety assessment by the National Health Commission of China on February 5, 2026. Derived from sodium alginate extracted from brown algae including kelp, sargassum, giant kelp and ascophyllum nodosum, the product is manufactured through hydrochloric acid dissolution, high-temperature degradation, neutralization, decolorization, purification, concentration and drying processes. Presented as pale yellow or yellow powder with natural flavor and odor and no visible foreign impurities, alginate oligosaccharide has a recommended daily intake of no more than 4 grams. Its approval expands the application boundary of marine bioactive ingredients in food processing.
In addition, the application for resistant maltodextrin, also known as soluble corn fiber, was officially accepted by the national authority on January 28, 2026. Processed from corn starch via specific enzymatic hydrolysis, resistant maltodextrin is a low-calorie soluble dietary fiber that cannot be digested and absorbed by the small intestine. With a dietary fiber content of over 90%, it is widely used in sugar-free meal replacement and healthy food products. Having obtained safety certifications in multiple countries, the material will further optimize the supply structure of water-soluble dietary fiber once fully approved in China.
II. Structural Adjustment of Dietary Fiber Industry with Divergent Business Performance
The dietary fiber and prebiotic industry showed differentiated development trends, with leading enterprises securing high growth via technological upgrading and layout optimization, while midstream raw material producers are challenged by cost and market pressures.
Shandong Bailong Chuangyuan Biotechnology released its 2025 performance report, recording steady revenue and rapid profit growth. The company achieved total operating revenue of 1.379 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.75%, and net profit attributable to listed shareholders reached 365.78 million yuan, up 48.94% year on year. The strong performance was mainly driven by three core factors: the rising sales proportion of high-margin resistant dextrin products, continuous production process transformation to cut raw material costs, and improved capacity utilization of soluble dietary fiber and crystalline sugar projects.
To further expand strategic layout, Bailong Chuangyuan invested 10 million yuan to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Nanjing in February 2026. Leveraging Nanjing's regional advantages, the group will strengthen overseas market expansion, technical exchanges and R&D innovation. As a global multi-category manufacturer of oligosaccharides, resistant dextrin and rare sugars, the company's products are exported to multiple overseas regions, and overseas business remains a core growth pillar for long-term development.
By contrast, raw material manufacturers face prominent operational headwinds. Affected by three consecutive quarters of rising corn kernel prices, continuous oversupply of corn starch and lysine, and frequent overseas anti-dumping investigations, relevant enterprises saw a sharp year-on-year decline in pre-tax profits in 2025. Weak off-season demand and temporary capacity adjustment further squeezed overall profitability of the starch deep processing sector.
In terms of production capacity expansion, Dongxiao Biotechnology's high-end intelligent health processing project has been operating at full capacity with sufficient orders since February 2026. The phase-I project, with a total investment of over 450 million yuan, is designed to produce 25,000 tons of dietary fiber, 10,000 tons of prebiotics and 75,000 tons of starch sugar annually, enriching the product matrix of polyglucose, resistant dextrin and functional oligosaccharides.
III. New Progress in Non-food Biomass High-value Utilization
Green and circular bio-manufacturing projects continue to advance steadily. On March 12, 2026, Bengbu Xinghe Straw Biotechnology's 120,000-ton mixed sugar joint production project was accepted for environmental assessment.
Taking crop straw and other non-food biomass as raw materials, the project adopts pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, refining and concentration technologies to produce mixed sugar, with high-value by-products such as plant-derived fulvic acid. After completion, the project will form an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons of pure mixed sugar, and create local jobs through standardized three-shift operation. The project effectively realizes resource recycling of agricultural waste, conforming to the low-carbon development direction of the bio-industry.
In terms of international trade barriers, the United States International Commission issued a final ruling in March 2026, imposing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese erythritol products. The continuous trade remedy investigations have increased export pressure on domestic sugar alcohol and deep-processing enterprises, forcing the industry to adjust export structure and explore emerging markets.
IV. Seed Industry Empowered by Policies and Independent Technological Breakthroughs
Supported by top-level policies, China's seed industry has entered a new stage of accelerated industrialization of biological breeding.
The No.1 Central Document issued in early February 2026 clearly proposed to accelerate the promotion of breakthrough crop varieties and expand the industrial application of biological breeding. The policy focuses on balancing yield, quality and stress resistance, and supports seed enterprises to conquer core breeding technologies. Meanwhile, the tax exemption policy for imported seed sources (2026–2030) was jointly issued to form a combined support mechanism for technological innovation and open cooperation.
Leading seed companies have responded actively to the policy. Major domestic players have approved a large number of new crop varieties, and the commercialization process of genetically modified crops has been markedly accelerated. Driven by policy incentives, 2026 will witness continuous expansion of genetically modified planting area, bringing long-term development opportunities for enterprises with independent variety R&D capabilities.
In terms of core technological research and development, two fully independent domestic solid-phase chips, Zhongxin Rice No.1 and Zhongxin Rapeseed No.1, were successfully developed by domestic research institutions in February 2026. The rice chip supports the detection of nearly 19,000 SNP loci, while the rapeseed chip covers more than 20,000 molecular markers. With an accuracy rate of over 98% and a 90% reduction in single detection cost compared with imported products, the two chips will be officially commercialized in 2026, greatly lowering the R&D threshold of precision breeding and promoting the independent and controllable development of China's seed industry.
Source from Fibers China Quarterly Newsletter Q1 2026、Sweeteners China News 202603
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