Our 1st Plant-Based Newsletter!

This is our 1st summary of the plant-based market divided into 2 main categories – Proteins and Starches&Sugars.

Proteins

Potato Protein

Potato crop was poor due to excesive moisture in late Summer/early Autumn. The estimated harvest was around 10-20% lower than predicted. Moreover, the harvest was late by 3 weeks. Low, but available quantities of raw material were contracted even before the harvest was completed, and what is left is in the hands of traders. Producers are currently left with no quantities to offer. All this results in a high price, and the constantly growing demand does not improve the situation.

Vital Wheat Gluten

The 2021 wheat harvest could be called a tragedy. High moisture in the wheat crop led to molding in the fields. This led to Food grade product being redirected to the Feed market.
Moreover, lower allowable amounts of Nitrogen, in the EU, for the last 2 years has led to reduced protein content in the product. Probably, this is a problem going forward, and future harvests will also have lower protein content. Bad news for bakers.

Traders are already contracting VWG for Q2, and some end users are willing to enter into contracts even for a longer period. The price of the product is stable and will most probably continue to rise in the near term.

The availability for Q3 is scarce. After halting projects for texturized wheat protein due to the pandemic in 2020, the topic picked up steam again this Summer of 2021, taking away large volumes of VWG for the Analog Meats area. This has also contributed to the rise in price and lack of availability of VWG.

Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten

Traders observe huge demand for the product, but its availability is extremely low. Very difficult to find right now. Large producers are struggling to supply the quantities contracted. Moreover, they are trying to cancell the already made promises. This means that new contracts will start in Q3 for 2023 deliveries.

Starches & Sugars

Dextrose

Dextrose food was and still is tight. The price has temporarily decreased in the comparison with 2021, but now it seems to go up again. Growing demand for packaged and ready-to-eat products and high disposable income is expected to drive the dextrose monohydrate market. It is anticipated to reach USD 5.0 billion by the end of 2030.
As for dextrose Feed, producers are buying food grade dextrose despite the premium prices to cover their needs.

Native Corn Starch

For native corn starch, the situation is similar to other plant-based products. The price is rising and supplies are quite limited. Whoever can offer fast delivery wins. Contracts for 2022 are almost sold out. No one wants to risk being left without product.
The global corn starch market reached a volume of 78.8 million tons in 2020. The market expects to ship around 96 million tons by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.3% between 2021 and 2026.