# Vitamins

Thirteen essential micronutrients made by chemical synthesis or fermentation for feed, food and pharma; China and Europe hold over 80% of capacity.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/

Bio-based chemicals · Fermentation products · No. 113

- Product family
- Feedstock: Crops and biomass
- not published as a total; capacities: vitamin C about 200 kt, vitamin E about 150 kt, vitamin A not reliably published (Faxian Gongchang gives 28 kt, but its BASF figure of 14.4 kt at 26.7% implies about 54 kt); China exported 422,765 t of vitamins in 2024
- HS 2936
 Bio-based chemicals · Fermentation products · Foundation · Matter

One fire at a single German plant in 2024 more than doubled the world price of vitamin A in two weeks.

Chart: Illustration: Vitamins

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Vitamins A and E come from long chemical syntheses using citral and isophytol, vitamins C, B2 and B12 from fermenting sugar, and D3 from cholesterol in wool grease.

##### Three things to know

1. China makes over 85% of the world's vitamin C and over 70% of its vitamin E.
2. India supplies 40-50% of the world's vitamin B12 and 30-40% of its folic acid.
3. dsm-firmenich agreed in February 2026 to sell its animal nutrition and vitamins business to CVC for about EUR 2.2 billion.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Raw materials**Acetone, acetylene, maize glucose or wool grease
2. 2 **Intermediates**Citral and isophytol for vitamins A, E
3. 3 **Synthesis or fermentation**Over ten steps for A; fermentation for C
4. 4 **Formulation**Beadlets protect fragile vitamins from oxidation
5. 5 **Use**Grams per tonne of feed, milligrams per person
 Covered in [Pharmaceuticals and fermentation: from molecule to medicineChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/pharmaceuticals-and-fermentation/)

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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/links/index.md)