Dispatches from IFT
IMR updates on carrageenan, alginates and gum arabic
Over the last six months the price of carrageenan has made progress back towards normal levels after a period of marked shortages – but the latest indications are that it is inching back up again in the latest quarter.
Alginates, too, are suffering from a dire shortage, which could impact beer producers (as well as other beverages and dressings). Since acquiring ISP’s alginates business in 2008, FMC BioPolymer has become a “gorilla in the alginates business”, and has consolidated production in Norway.
And this week news has broken about the Sudanese government scrapping a government monopoly on the production and export of gum Arabic.
Will this have a significant impact on the market? Not according to the experts, who say instability in Sudan means big users are unlikely to change course – and several hydrocolloid suppliers are working hard on gum Arabic alternatives.
