What happened to the once most popular vitamin now? Analysis of the current situation of VB12 industry

Vitamin B12 (VB12), an essential nutrient for the human body, was once called the "craziest vitamin" due to market speculation and price surges and plunges. In recent years, with industry reshuffles and technological innovations, the VB12 market has gradually returned to rationality, but the competition landscape and application areas are still evolving. The following is an analysis of the current status of the VB12 industry.

1. The core value and historical madness of VB12

Irreplaceable function

VB12 participates in red blood cell production, nervous system maintenance and DNA synthesis, and has rigid demand in the fields of medicine, health products, animal feed, etc. The human body cannot synthesize it independently and must be supplemented by exogenous sources.

The crazy cycle in the past

Price surge: From 2016 to 2018, affected by environmental protection production restrictions, speculative hoarding and other factors, the price of VB12 soared all the way. The export version of VB12 rose from the relatively stable US$1,800/kg for many years to the highest point of US$13,000/kg, and the RMB price was hyped to 150,000 yuan/kg, which was comparable to half of the gold price at that time.

Capacity expansion wave: China has become the world's largest producer, and enterprises in Hebei, Ningxia and other places have rapidly expanded production, resulting in a period of overcapacity.
2. Industry status

New pattern under rational return: The imbalance between market supply and demand, and the oversupply for many years have led to serious overcapacity. China accounts for more than 90% of the global production capacity. The current global demand is 110 tons. The annual comprehensive production capacity of domestic mainstream manufacturers alone is nearly 200 tons, among which Hebei Yuxing has an annual production capacity of nearly 90 tons, Hebei Huarong has an annual production capacity of nearly 50 tons, and Ningxia Jinwei Pharmaceutical has an annual production capacity of nearly 40 tons. The industry concentration is relatively high.

Global market size: Demand is about 110 tons, about 300-400 million US dollars, with an annual growth rate of about 3-5%, mainly driven by pharmaceutical and feed demand.

Demand differentiation: Feed additives account for more than 70% of consumption, benefiting from the rapid development of animal husbandry.

Pharmaceuticals and health products: High-end preparations (such as methylcobalamin) have higher profits and have grown slowly in recent years.

Emerging applications: Plant-based foods (such as artificial meat) have become a new growth point for strengthening VB12.

3. Technological innovation reduces costs

Optimization of fermentation process: strain improvement and production line transformation and upgrading have improved fermentation efficiency. The production cost of VB12 has dropped from nearly 20,000 yuan/kg in the early years to about 7,000 yuan/kg at present.

Breakthrough in synthetic biology: Through the retrieval of the AI intelligent search system of the industry monitoring platform, domestic mainstream manufacturers have used new green and non-toxic patented processes to ensure the stable production of green and non-toxic high-end vitamin B12 raw materials.

Policy and environmental pressure: China's environmental protection policies are becoming stricter, small and medium-sized production capacity is cleared, and leading companies have consolidated their advantages through green production processes (such as wastewater recycling).
4. Challenges faced by the industry

Price competition is involuted, and production capacity is seriously oversupplied. At present, the inventory backlog of some domestic manufacturers has reached 1.5 years of consumption, and the inventory of foreign distribution channels and overseas warehouses has generally reached 6-8 months of consumption. Therefore, overcapacity has led to a continuous compression of corporate profit margins. Prices have been running at a low level in the past two years, and the price trend is expected to continue to decline, even catching up to the cost line.

Synthetic biology reshapes the industry

The innovation of new processes ensures that products are green and non-toxic, improves market and customer recognition, provides higher-quality products, and drives product branding, differentiated competition, and a high market share in high-end market segments.

In short, as far as the current status of the industry is concerned, the VB12 industry has bid farewell to the era of huge profits, but rigid demand and technological upgrades will support the long-term positive development of this product. Future competition will focus on high-end product research and development, cost control, and green production. At present, domestic companies with technical reserves and scale effects are expected to continue to lead.