my country’s taurine production is gradually increasing, and functional drinks are the largest application field

Taurine, also known as taurine, oxcholine, etc., is an amino acid converted from sulfur-containing amino acids. The chemical name of taurine is 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid. It appears as a white needle-shaped crystal or powder with a slightly sour smell under normal temperature and pressure. Taurine can not only promote brain tissue and intellectual development in infants and young children, but also improve heart health, enhance human metabolism, and prevent cardiovascular diseases.

After years of development, the taurine preparation process has gradually matured and can be roughly divided into ethanolamine process, ethylene oxide process, etc. Among them, the ethylene oxide process has become the mainstream process in my country’s taurine market due to its advantages such as low energy consumption, low production costs, high yield of finished products, and low environmental pollution.

From the upstream of the industrial chain, the production of one ton of taurine requires approximately 0.5 tons of ethylene oxide, so ethylene oxide has become the main raw material for the production of taurine. Driven by downstream market demand, the production scale of my country’s ethylene oxide enterprises has gradually expanded, and production capacity has increased. In 2022, my country’s ethylene oxide production capacity has reached 7.4612 million tons. The growth of my country’s ethylene oxide production capacity has provided sufficient raw materials for the rapid development of the taurine market.

Taurine has a wide range of applications, and is mostly used in functional beverages, feed, medicine, health food, pet food and other fields. Among them, functional drinks have become the largest application field of taurine, accounting for 44.82%; followed by pet food, accounting for 29.71%; health food ranks third, accounting for 14.23%.

In recent years, my country’s functional drink market has developed rapidly. As taurine is the main ingredient in functional drinks to resist fatigue, market demand has grown accordingly. Taurine, as a raw material that enhances pet immunity, protects pet vision, and improves nervous stability, is widely used in the field of pet food. As the number of pets in my country gradually increases, the pet food market has developed rapidly, driving the market demand for taurine to continue to grow.

According to the “Taurine Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report 2023-2027” released by the Industrial Research Center, in Driven by downstream market demand, my country’s taurine production scale has gradually expanded, and output has increased accordingly. In 2022, my country’s taurine output will be 90,100 tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.52%.

Industry analysts said that at present, my country’s taurine market has a high degree of concentration, and leading companies have emerged. The major taurine companies in my country include Yuanda Fuchi, Jiangyin Huachang, Changshu Yuanyang, Yongan Pharmaceutical, etc. Among them, Yongan Pharmaceutical has become the world’s largest taurine manufacturer by virtue of its advantages such as a complete industrial chain and large production scale. However, due to the reduction in foreign market demand for taurine, Yongan Pharmaceutical’s operating income has declined. According to data in the company’s annual report, Yongan Pharmaceutical achieved operating income of 1.462 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.58%.