Oligosaccharide category is a rising star in food sweetener products family due to its health functions. As novel sweeteners, oligosaccharides are used in a variety of enduse products as food, drink, dietary supplement, pharmaceutical and animal feeds. Particularly in foods, it’s can be added as alternative sweetener of sugar.

The oligosaccharide (OS) category includes isomalto-OS, Fructo-OS, Xylo-OS, Galacto-OS, lupeose, raffinose, soy OS, isomalt, chitosan, trehalose and malto-OS, etc. OS is polymers of mono-saccharides’ polymerization via glucosidic bond. The DPs (degree of polymerization) of oligosaccharides are usually 2-10.

China has grown into an significant OS manufacturer and suppier with a high speed over the past 2 decades since it started to do research and development of OS in mid 1990s. Our research data shows that there are more than 70 OS producers currently in China and that the total production quantity was approx 120,000 metric tons while the total Chinese production capacity of all OS facilities was 300,000 metric tons in 2010. The annual sales revenue of OS increased to $350 million. After US, Europe and Japan, China is playing a major role in OS supply chain by taking 30% of global supply size.

Most Chinese OS producers use enzymetic method to do production. Extracting method is outdated and abandoned. Most producers can only produce 1-2 OS products because of the difference between the raw materials of various OS products. Most of the Chinese OS facilities are located near to the raw material (corn, seaweed, sugarcane and other agri products) regions such as Shandong, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces. Leading producers are Baolingbao, Longlive, Quantum, etc. It seems to be the future trends that leading producers are expanding the capacities and taking more market shares. Compared with the foreign competitors, Chinese manufacturers own the advantages as enormous raw material supply (non genetic modified corn), lower labor cost, and government support on industrial and tax policies. The local government of Lvcehng County of Shandong province, where Baolingbao, Longlive and other OS producers are situated, is planning to set OS manufacturing industry as the top priority of its economic development.

Meanwhile China is also releasing its potential of OS application market. As excellent dietary fibers or prebiotics, the demands on OS from infant formula, functional beverage, yoghurt, slimming products are increasing incrediably in China. Our research data shows that the annual growth rate is usually 30%~50% or even higher. For more information on China oligosaccharides market or other high intensity sweenteners market please contact the China-based market research firm CNutrInfo Ltd via the website below: www.cnutrinfo.com

About CNutrInfo

CNutrInfo is a China-based consultancy firm specializing in market research & consulting service on food, nutrition, pharmaceuticacl, cosmetics and related ingredients industries. We generally serve our client with market research reports, brief survey reports, market data, import/export statistic data and phone talk consultation. We also brokered M&A and products distribution deals for a number of foreign clients. We have conducted dozens of research projects for some prestigious companies in those areas and many investment management firms from US, UK, China, Hong Kong and India.

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