The application fields of sorbitol are expanding day by day, and the market demand will continue to grow.

Sorbitol, also known as sorbitol, is a type of sugar alcohol. Sorbitol is easily soluble in water, slightly soluble in ethanol and acetic acid, and has good acid and heat resistance. Sorbitol has polyol characteristics and can undergo oxidation, lipidation, dehydration and other reactions. As one of the functional sugar alcohols, sorbitol is mainly used in medicine, chemical industry, food and other fields. In recent years, with the improvement of market recognition, the application of sorbitol has gradually expanded to papermaking, textile, feed and other fields.

Sorbitol can be divided into two categories: crystal sorbitol and liquid sorbitol. Liquid sorbitol has the advantages of low price and simple process. It is currently the mainstream product in the market, accounting for about 90%. Crystalline sorbitol is white or colorless crystalline powder or granules. Due to high technical requirements, complex processes, and high costs, crystalline sorbitol has a low market share, but its added value is higher and its future development prospects are better.

According to the “2022-2026 Global Sorbitol Industry In-depth Market Research and Key Area Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center, my country is a major exporter of sorbitol. Since 2016, my country’s annual sorbitol export volume has maintained an overall growth trend, with an average annual compound growth rate of approximately 26.2% from 2016 to 2021. In 2021, my country’s sorbitol export volume will reach 115,000 tons. about.

According to different application fields, sorbitol can be divided into pharmaceutical grade, food grade and chemical grade. In my country, sorbitol is mainly pharmaceutical grade and is mainly used to produce vitamin C. With the development of my country’s economy, the scale of sorbitol consumption in my country has also continued to grow. From the perspective of consumption regional distribution, East China and North China are the main sorbitol consumption regions in my country.

The global sorbitol consumer market is mainly distributed in the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. In the international market, sorbitol production companies include French Roquette, Swiss Roche, American ADM, American SRI, German Cerestar, etc. my country has sufficient supply of sorbitol raw materials and mature production technology. With advantages such as scale and high cost performance, my country’s competitive advantage in the international sorbitol market has continued to increase, and it has gradually occupied a dominant position in the international market.

At this stage, my country’s largest sorbitol manufacturers include Shandong Tianli Pharmaceutical, Luzhou Biotechnology, Zhaoqing Huanhuan Biotechnology, Qingdao Mingyue Seaweed Group, Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., etc. From the perspective of enterprise distribution, my country’s sorbitol enterprises are mainly distributed in Shandong, Zhejiang and other regions, among which Shandong has the largest number of sorbitol enterprises.

Industry analysts said that as one of the functional sugar alcohols, sorbitol has good application prospects in the upgrading and application of dietary consumption. Driven by factors such as field expansion, the market demand for sorbitol will increase. my country is a major producer and consumer of sorbitol, but currently domestically produced sorbitol is mainly liquid sorbitol, with low product added value. With the upgrading of the industrial structure, the crystallized sorbitol market has broad room for growth.