Research and Markets: New Report Assesses the Prospects for Sugar Substitute Stevioside...

Thu Mar 27, 2008 9:00pm EDT

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Research and Markets: New Report Assesses the Prospects for Sugar Substitute Stevioside in China

DUBLIN, Ireland--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c86870) has announced the
addition of "Production & Market of Stevia & Stevioside in China" to
their offering.

Stevioside, the main sweet component in the leaves of the Stevia
plant, tastes about 300 times sweeter than table sugar. It has
numerous benefits as a sweetener: it is 100% natural, stable, contains
no calories and promotes good dental health by reducing sugar intake.
It can be used by diabetics, obese persons and patients suffering from
phenylketonuria, an illness which requires a strict diet without
artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.

As the incidence of type-2 diabetes and obesity is sharply
increasing, stevioside is an excellent substitute for sugar.

Stevia and stevioside have been permitted as food additives in
Brazil, Korea, Japan and China. In the United States, they are
permitted as a dietary supplement. Recently, large company groups,
such as Cargil and Coco Cola have been making effort to widening the
market of the United States, and the market potential for stevioside
would be great, with the gradual opening of the US market.

China has been the largest stevioside supplier in the world in
recent years, though its domestic stevioside market is relatively
small. In 2007, about 81% of China's stevioside is exported.

Both the stevia planting and stevioside production are undergoing
changes in China in recent years, driven by the overseas demand trend.

The increasing demand from the overseas market of high purity
stevioside and A3 products, drives the development of domestic
steviosdie industry, but the impact of this trend only limit to the
large-scale stevioside producers who master the technology of high
purity stevioside and A3 products, while for the small-scale
enterprises, who can only produce ordinary stevioside, it is hard for
them to get more befits from stevioside export.

The plantation area of stevia leaves with high glycoside and A3
content will continue to expand in the future since 2007. And the
proportion of common stevia leaves will continue to decline.

This report provides an in-depth analysis of China's stevia
planting situation and stevioside production and market situation.

Companies Mentioned:

Jiangxi Ganzhou Julong high-tech Food Industry Co., Ltd.

Shandong Huaxian Stevia Co., Ltd.

Heilongjiang Hailin Stevioside Factory

Shandong Qingdao Runde Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

Henan New Industrial Business Center Stevioside Products Co., Ltd

For more information visit
here

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
Fax: +353 1 4100 980
press@researchandmarkets.com