The Twists and Turns of China's Vitamin D3 Exports to the EU 01-24-2025

Summary: From 2022 - 2024, China's vitamin D3 exports to EU faced hurdles. Blocked by regs in 2022, re-entered in 2023, then reported for banned stuff in 2024. EU market relied on certain traders & producers, with rising price expectations. Domestic and foreign industries reacted: domestic firms hiked prices & quality, traders widened channels; EU end-users changed procurement, some firms pushed EU to boost local competitiveness. EU prices may rise short-term, fall long-term with supply shifts, possibly reshaping global market.

 

Vitamin D3 has a customs code of 2936901000. It is an active form of vitamin D. It is synthesized from 7-dehydrocholesterol in the human skin under the irradiation of ultraviolet B (UVB), which is an important way for the human body to obtain vitamin D3. In addition, it can also be obtained from some foods, such as deep-sea fish, animal livers, etc., and it is also a common form in vitamin D supplements.

Vitamin D3 is a common form in vitamin D supplements due to its characteristics such as being synthesizable by the human skin, having high activity, a strong binding ability to receptors, and being effective in promoting calcium absorption and calcium-phosphorus metabolism.


In 2022, many EU countries, citing non-compliance with relevant regulatory access requirements, caused obstacles to the export of vitamin D3 from China. This affected the vitamin D3 export production of Zhejiang Garden Nutrition Technology Co., Ltd. in Jinhua.With the joint efforts of multiple departments, the General Administration of Customs of China raised a special trade concern to the World Trade Organization, promoting the EU to modify its access regulations. In 2023, China's vitamin D3 re-entered the EU market.According to the news from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the EU, on December 6, 2024, the EU reported that the exported hydroxyvitamin D3 from China was unqualified because it was found to contain the prohibited substance chloramphenicol (>0.26µg/kg). The reporting country was Lithuania, and the status was that there was no distribution in the notified country, with a trade ban and a sales ban.

As a result, the entire European market is highly dependent on a few traders who have close relationships with producers and producers who have inventory in Europe. After NHU announced the latest price of vitamin D3 at 75 euros per kilogram, more and more people in the market have come to believe that the price of D3 will further increase, and the prices quoted by second- and third-tier brands have also been raised to around 45 euros per kilogram.


In response to this, the domestic and foreign industries have taken corresponding actions.Some domestic enterprises have increased the price of vitamin D3. For example, domestic enterprises such as Garden Biotech have adjusted the market price. The current mainstream price of vitamin D3 in the domestic market this week is between 250 and 270 yuan per kilogram.Enterprises are paying more attention to improving product quality to ensure compliance with EU standards. They are collaborating with professional institutions to conduct in-depth research on EU regulations and improve the production process and quality inspection system.Traders are closely monitoring market dynamics and policy changes, actively seeking qualified partners within the EU to expand trade channels. For traders with inventory, under policy restrictions, they are reasonably controlling the shipment rhythm according to market demand and price trends to obtain better profits.


European end-users have adopted a "buy as needed" procurement strategy due to the price increase, and the inventory at all levels of end-users is extremely low. Some users have started to look for products with relatively lower prices, and the demand for products of second- and third-tier brands with relatively lower prices has increased somewhat.Some enterprises hope that the EU will regard vitamins as "key materials" and call on the EU to take policy measures to enhance the competitiveness of EU feed additive producers and reduce the strategic dependence on external supplies such as those from China.At the same time, there may be an increase in investment and research and development efforts in the production of vitamin D3 to seek the diversification of the supply chain.


According to the market observations of the CCM market intelligence platform, in the short term, due to limited supply and relatively stable demand, the price of vitamin D3 in the EU market may continue to rise. In the long term, if the EU increases production investment internally and the global market supply pattern changes, the price may decline. However, affected by production costs and policy factors, price fluctuations will still exist.

The EU's policy restrictions may prompt adjustments to the global vitamin D3 market pattern. Non-EU producers may gain more market share, and some enterprises with production bases or cooperative relationships in the EU will have a more competitive advantage.


About CCM:
CCM is the leading market intelligence provider for China’s agriculture, chemicals, food & feed and life science markets. Founded in 2001, CCM offers a range of content solutions, from price and trade analysis to industry newsletters and customized market research reports. CCM is a brand of Kcomber Inc.
For more information about CCM, please visit www.cnchemicals.com or get in touch with us directly by emailing econtact@cnchemicals.com or calling +86-20-37616606.

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