Calcium Propionate Values Follow a Downtrend in India Due to Fluctuating Feed Prices

The Food and Beverage business worldwide has undergone a total transformation in the past year. After experiencing one of the deadliest pandemics the world has ever seen, many unforeseen patterns arose, and the industry, which is currently in change, is attempting to regain the ground it lost over time. The Food and Beverage sectors are undergoing a major modification from how it has operated for many years, and new trends are still under development. Technology related to food is mainly driving this development. With more than 7.3 million employees, India's food and beverage industry employs most of the nation's workforce and contributes about 3% of the country's GDP. India's Food & Beverage sector has expanded considerably over time and is still reshaping the sector for the future.

In bread and other baked items as a preservative, Calcium Propionate, along with Sodium Propionate and Propionic Acid, are frequently used in the food and beverage industries. By suppressing bacterial and fungal growth that would otherwise cause the food to spoil, Calcium Propionate aids in keeping the food products fresh. Nevertheless, it can also be found in some varieties of cheese and butter in their natural forms. Calcium propionate has been generally recognized as safe (GRAS) since 1979, when a U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee researched the substance. "There is no evidence in the available information on Propionic acid and Calcium Propionate that indicates reasonable reasons to suspect a hazard to the public when they are used at levels that are now current, or that might reasonably be expected in the future," they have stated. 

The ChemAnalyst reports that due to fluctuating Propionic acid (feed) costs, Calcium Propionate prices have been steadily declining in the Indian domestic market. Since a significant portion of India's imports from China are chemicals utilized in the food and beverage sectors, the offshore demand from Indian merchants has also considerably decreased, which is another important factor that led to the drop in country prices. Given the significant climatic fluctuations in India, many local traders are constantly clearing their stock shelves out of concern that it may cause their stock to degrade.

Supply lines entering and leaving China have been significantly impacted by the frequent lockdowns that the country witnessed since the covid outbreak started. The bulk of manufacturing facilities was either running at reduced capacity or shut down due to the zero-covid policy during lockdowns was one of the main causes that contributed to the disruption of the global supply chains. The impact on export shipments from China's main ports was negative and was impacting the import of several food chemicals, including Calcium Propionate, in India. Market participants anticipate that China's other regions may continue to experience sporadic lockdowns in the future, which can prolong the time it takes for the supply chains to clear off the coast. Accordingly, experts predict that the Zero-tolerance policy has caused many to revisit the China Plus One strategy debate. They went on to say that long-term solutions might be found by geographically diversifying supply chains, especially by moving industries to various Southeast Asian countries that are still in the development stage.