Vitamin B12 prices are expected to decrease in the upcoming weeks due to market competitiveness in India
- 10-Jan-2022 4:55 PM
- Journalist: S. Jayavikraman
India has one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world, with nearly 800,000 retail pharmacies, where Vitamin B12 is largely utilized in the form of supplements and drugs. India usually sources their dietary ingredients from China, particularly in two main categories, including raw material ingredients and bulk dietary supplements like capsules, tablets, etc. It is mandatory for Chinese manufacturers to follow cGMPs (current good manufacturing practices), hazard analysis, risk-based preventive controls for human food (21 CFR part 117), and serious adverse event reporting (section 761 of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act; 21 USC section 379aa-1) before exporting their products to other countries.
As per ChemAnalyst, the pricing trend of Vitamin B12 is anticipated to witness a downward trajectory in the upcoming weeks. Vitamin B12 Ex-Mumbai prices were last assessed at USD 2777912 per tonne on 7th January 2022 is likely to decline by 3-5% in the last week of January 2022. Indian buyers have already purchased and stocked this product sufficiently in the month of December 2020, and now they don’t need it urgently to source in the market. This situation has created market competitiveness amongst the suppliers, which will further affect the price trend of Vitamin B12 in the Indian domestic market.
The Vitamin B12 market in India has remained quiet since the third quarter of 2021, and the market sentiments have remained persistent since then. Ample inventories of the product have made up for the trade challenges being witnessed for quite some time.
What lies ahead?
As per ChemAnalyst, Vitamin B12 values are expected to showcase no significant fluctuations, and prices are likely to witness a decrement in the upcoming weeks. The speculation of a temporary shutdown of Nutraceuticals facilities in China concerned the Indian buyers about the constraint supplies of Vitamin B12, which propelled them to buy Vitamin B12 at high prices in December 2020.
