WorldWide Glutamic Acid and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Market, Industry / Sector Analysis Report, Regional Outlook & Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2019 - 2025 (Includes Business Impact of COVID-19)

                                          
Global glutamic acid market size was estimated at over 2.9 million tons in 2014 and is likely to reach more than 4 million tons by 2023. Revenue is likely to be worth more than USD 15.5 billion by 2023 growing with an estimated CAGR of above 7.5% up to 2023.
 

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) market size was estimated over 3 million tons in 2014 and is likely to surpass 4 million tons by 2023. MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid which is an amino acid.
 

Asia Pacific witnessed the highest consumption of both the products and accounted for approximately 64% and 88% for glutamic acid and MSG respectively of the total volume in 2014. North America glutamic acid market is likely to witness moderate growth rates over the forecast period for this particular market.
 

Food & dietary supplements was the dominant application for glutamic acid market and accounted for more than 85% of the total volume in 2014. Pharmaceutical application is likely to witness highest gains over the forecast period.
 

Shift of consumer preference towards processed food consumption owing to hectic lifestyles is likely to drive market. Processed food is seen as an easy availability to consumers with the increase in middle class disposable income levels. This factor is likely to favor processed food industry growth over the next few years.
 

Glutamic acid and MSG, both are used as flavor enhancers and additives in food applications. Major end-users for this particular application include food processing industry (manufacturers of snacks, convenience & functional food, condiments, seasoning blends, soups and instant noodles), institutional food service providers and restaurants.
 

Growing awareness towards consuming food containing natural additives coupled with increasing health consciousness is likely to favor glutamic acid market growth. It is also used as an additive in diary applications as it increases the taste and shelf life of the product. U.S. FDA considers MSG as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) for food applications. This factor is likely to favor MSG market growth.
 

Increase in livestock production such as broiler, cattle and swine for meat consumption is likely to drive the market growth. Glutamic acid consumption in livestock production accounted for a lower market share. MSG is also used in negligible amounts for animal feed. Swine animal feed is the major application in livestock production for glutamic acid, followed by poultry.
 

Glutamic acid comprises for a smaller share in medical/pharmaceutical applications, which is anticipated to increase over the forecast period. Medical applications include congenital metabolic diseases, parenteral nutrition and hypertention neuroregulators.
 

Asia Pacific is estimated to be the fastest growing glutamic acid and MSG market. Growth of processed food industry in countries such as China and India owing to growing urban class population is likely to drive demand. China was the largest consumer of both these products. China alone accounted for more than 52% of total MSG consumption in 2013.
 

MSG production is majorly concentrated in Asia as feedstock such as molasses and tapioca are abundantly available coupled with inexpensive labor cost. Asian MSG capacity accounted for 94% of the total production volume in 2013. Countries such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand are major MSG producers out of which China accounted to close to 65% of the world MSG production.
 

Japan Taiwan and South Korea are expected to witness sluggish growth rates over the forecast period. Middle East & Africa are likely to grow at moderate growth rates as countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar have to mainly be dependent on imports of these products.
 

Europe is likely to witness below average CAGR growth rate over the forecast period. The consumers of this region prefer to be dependent upon consuming few or no additives which can hamper MSG demand which can be countered by using it for production of chelating agent GLDA (glutamic acid N,N-diacetic acid tetrasodium salt).
 

The global glutamic acid and MSG market share is fragmented with certain companies fully present across the value chain. These companies compete on the basis of price and services provided. Key companies operating in this market include Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Sunrise Nutrachem Group, Kyowa Hakko Bio Co., Ltd and Royal DSM. Other prominengt companies include Shaanxi Sciphar Hi-tech Industry Co., Ltd, Prinova U.S. LLC, Global Bio-chem Technology Group Company Limited, AnaSpec Inc., Tocris Bioscience Ltd, Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd and Iris Biotech GmbH.