Vitamin A price remains steady

This week’s feed additives and ingredients update reviews the developments in the Vitamin A market and highlights a new feed ingredient; insect meal.

Last week, we wrote about the force majeure issued by BASF in response to the fire at a factory in Ludwigshafen, impacting the supply of intermediates for the production of several key ingredients including Vitamin A. We reviewed the effect on the market and saw that this supply-side incident had yet to influence demand. We’ve been closely tracking the price of Vitamin A since, and wanted to give our readers an update.

While we have heard murmurs of worry from the market regarding the impact on Vitamin A and other products made from sodium methylate, it remains that for the time being the market is largely unaffected. In fact, the price of Vitamin A globally decreased by 3.2% in the last week. Following the announcement by BASF, many across the market also understood that relatively little sodium methylate is needed for the European production capacity of Vitamin A. This may be one reason for the lack of market response, though we intend to continue watching Vitamin A closely.

Insect Meal is another recent addition to Glowlit, and is on our radar this week because just days ago the EU approved the use of Animal meal from insects in pig and poultry feed. Overall, the global market for Processed Animal Proteins (PAPs) and insect meal is unstable. Prices for animal proteins remain localized as sellers and buyers manage supply chains risks associated with delays and high freight costs. In the United States, increased shipping costs are pushing the domestic market price of meat and bone meal downward. While many US producers would love to take advantage of global arbitrage opportunities, the cost of freight does not make it worthwhile.

Insect meal is nutritious, economical, and a growing alternative to other sources of feed protein including Soybean Meal. Black soldier fly meal is an especially good option since it is higher in lipids and calcium compared to SBM. Crickets are very strong nutritionally, but represent a less economical option. As a ‘circular economy’ feed, insect meal is considered to be a highly-sustainable protein. New companies aiming to industrialize insect protein production are sprouting across many parts of the world including Europe, North America, and Australia, though actual capacity is growing at a slower pace. You can benchmark your price to get access to a full price report.