Vitamins: Overview
Cheap insurance for chickens, and pricey actives for skin cream
What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.Vitamins are added to animal feed, foods, supplements, medicines and cosmetics in tiny doses. Vitamins A and E are made by multi-step chemistry from petrochemical building blocks such as citral and isophytol; vitamin C, B2 and B12 by fermentation of sugar; vitamin D3 by irradiating cholesterol from wool grease. Faxian Gongchang puts the market at about $18 billion in 2025, a figure that is indicative (unverified) because the same source uses it for wider scopes; China and Europe together hold over 80% of capacity (Faxian Gongchang, 2026). A single fire at BASF Ludwigshafen in July 2024 more than doubled vitamin A prices in two weeks, which shows how concentrated supply is.
Volume 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 Market value about $18 billion (2025, Faxian Gongchang; indicative (unverified): the same source gives $18 billion for the whole feed premix market, and about $0.9 billion for feed vitamin additives in 2024); China over 30% of value Growth feed vitamins 5.4% a year 2025-2031 (Faxian Gongchang citing a narrower feed-vitamin estimate) Faxian Gongchang China Vitamins 2026 reportKey uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animal feed premixes | 40% | about $7.2 billionbasis | Vitamins A, E, D3, B2, niacin and others are cheap insurance against deficiency in fast-growing poultry, pigs and fish; most vitamin A and E tonnage goes to feed (indicative). Faxian Gongchang 2026 (feed focus); share indicative | None for essential vitamins; natural feed sources only partly |
| Dietary supplements and fortified food | 35% | about $6.3 billionbasis | Multivitamins, infant formula and fortified flour, oil and milk; India mandates or promotes fortification of rice, oil and salt (indicative). indicative | Whole-food diets Biofortified crops |
| Pharmaceuticals | 15% | about $2.7 billionbasis | Injections, prescription vitamins and pharma intermediates; India supplies 40-50% of vitamin B12 and 30-40% of folic acid (Faxian Gongchang). Faxian Gongchang 2026; share indicative | Not substitutable |
| Cosmetics and personal care | 10% | about $1.8 billionbasis | Vitamin E, niacinamide (B3) and panthenol (B5) are common actives; cosmetic-grade VE sells at RMB 300-500/kg against RMB 80-100/kg for feed VE (Faxian Gongchang). Faxian Gongchang 2026; share indicative | Other antioxidants and actives |
From raw material to user
- Petrochemicals and crops Acetone, isobutylene and acetylene feed citral and isophytol for vitamins A and E; maize glucose feeds vitamin C, B2 and B12 fermentation; wool grease supplies cholesterol for D3.
- Key intermediates BASF's Ludwigshafen citral plant, about 40 kt/yr, was about 66% of world citral capacity before the July 2024 fire (Faxian Gongchang).
- Synthesis or fermentation Vitamin A takes over ten chemical steps; vitamin C is made by a two-step fermentation to 2-keto-gulonic acid then chemistry (indicative).
- Formulation Beadlets and spray-dried powders protect A and E from oxidation; premixers blend vitamins with minerals.
- Use Dosed at grams per tonne of feed or milligrams per person per day.
Made from (commodity table)
Mz MaizeOil Crude oilThree things to know
- China and Europe hold over 80% of world vitamin capacity; China over 85% of vitamin C and over 70% of vitamin E (Faxian Gongchang, 2026).
- The BASF Ludwigshafen fire of 29 July 2024 lifted Chinese vitamin A prices from RMB 98/kg to about RMB 230/kg in two weeks (Faxian Gongchang).
- dsm-firmenich agreed on 9 February 2026 to sell its Animal Nutrition & Health business, including vitamins, to CVC at an enterprise value of about EUR 2.2 billion (including up to EUR 0.5 billion of earn-out), keeping 20%; closing is expected at the end of 2026 (dsm-firmenich).