Greenhai Weekly Market Report May 5-11, 2026
After two months of the U.S.-Iran war, the impact of raw material price fluctuations has become visible in every aspect of our daily lives. Many people have noticed that a wide range of products have already increased in price. Crude oil derivatives—such as plastics, transportation, agriculture, and even food—are everywhere in our lives.
Market disruptions caused by oil issues will certainly happen again in the future. So, should we start thinking about how to improve this situation? Perhaps we can consider two approaches to prepare for the future in advance.
1. Choose sustainable raw materials.
Nearly half of the raw materials used in food nutrition and food additives are chemically synthesized, and all chemical synthesis depends on petroleum derivatives. In contrast, raw materials produced through fermentation or enzymatic catalysis are sustainable. These production methods use microorganisms (such as yeast) and proteases to produce raw materials, effectively reducing dependence on petroleum.
Take amino acids as an example. There are two production methods: hydrolysis of hair and fermentation. The fermentation process mainly uses specific bacterial strains, glucose, ammonium sulfate, and magnesium sulfate.
Another example is GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). There are two production methods: chemical synthesis and enzymatic catalysis. Enzymatic catalysis reduces the use of petroleum derivatives to some extent, while also generating less pollution and offering greater safety during production.
Choosing raw materials produced through fermentation or enzymatic catalysis is a more sustainable option.
2. Choose biodegradable packaging materials.
Most of our packaging materials are plastics, and plastics depend on petroleum. So, can we use biodegradable materials for packaging? For example, packaging materials made from sugars or fibers.
At present, most outer food packaging materials have already moved toward biodegradability—such as kraft paper and cardboard drums. However, inner packaging still needs further development, because inner packaging comes into direct contact with the product. The stability of biodegradable materials can directly affect the quality of the product inside.
Today, biodegradable packaging materials are emerging continuously in the market. Although the cost remains high, we believe that as technology improves, production costs will gradually decrease. Embracing biodegradable materials will help us make better products.
Vitamins
Niacinamide, niacin, and vitamin K3 remain firm in transaction prices due to raw material constraints, and supply continues to be tight.
Vitamin A and calcium pantothenate have seen slight price declines.
Vitamin C, vitamin D3, and inositol prices remain stable.
Amino Acids
Feed-grade amino acids have seen slight price declines, including L-lysine HCl (98.5%), L-tryptophan, and L-valine.
Among food-grade amino acids, L-tyrosine has seen a relatively large price decrease, while other amino acid prices remain stable.
Most of these are produced through fermentation processes and are therefore less affected by crude oil price fluctuations.
Food Additives
Food additive products are highly dependent on energy, minerals, and petroleum. The main influencing factors include mineral resources (such as copper ore), sulfuric acid (a petroleum byproduct), and natural gas (a petroleum derivative).
Copper sulfate prices remain high due to the impact of sulfuric acid and copper ore, with an FOB price of USD 4.5/kg.
Dicalcium phosphate prices are stable.
The market inventory of creatine monohydrate needs to be absorbed, and future prices are expected to decline.
Citric acid (anhydrous and monohydrate) is produced through glucose fermentation, and market prices have remained stable, unaffected by recent fluctuations.
Greenhai Nutritionals dedicates in the distribution and supply of nutritonal ingredients and food additives in global markets. For more products we want to know, please contact inquiry@greenhai.com freely.
