DSM said it is to increase prices for the vitamin C forms it produces in China by a minimum of 10% for non-contracted business.
The hike is effective immediately, said the Dutch company.
When asked what the rationale was behind the price escalation, a spokesperson for DSM told this publication:
“We continually invest in upgrading and developing our production sites, in particular those we acquired in China with Aland (now renamed DSM Jiangshan), improving efficiency and environmental performance.
“As everyone knows, there have been clear upward pressures on production costs in China - increasing wages and more stringent environmental regulations, against a backdrop of historically declining prices.
“So we need to ensure the balance is right for our business. Vitamin C is a key nutritional ingredient with various benefits for human health; it’s important that the market is also healthy. This requires investment.”
She added that DSM welcomed the tougher rules in relation to environmental management.
More than 90% of the world’s vitamin C is manufactured in China.