The Sodium Metabisulfite Market is driven by a thriving food and beverage sector

The market for sodium metabisulfite was valued at USD 326 million in 2018 and is expected to increase at a rate of around 6.3 percent from 2019 to 2025.

The sodium metabisulfite market is driven by a thriving food and beverage sector, particularly in developed countries such as the United States, as well as rising need for food packaging to protect food quality, which has significantly boosted market size throughout the anticipated time period. Sodium metabisulfite is an inorganic chemical made up of oxygen, sodium, and sulphur that is soluble in water and glycerin, making it suited for a variety of applications.

Because of its antimicrobial properties, sodium metabisulfite can be used as a preservative, reducing agent, antioxidant, disinfectant, colour fixative, leavening agent, and bleaching agent in alcoholic beverages such as wine, cocktail mixes, wine coolers, and pastries such as cookies, quiche crust, pizza crust, crackers, dried fruit and juice mixes, and so on. BASF, for example, sells Food Grade sodium metabisulfite, which is primarily used to prevent shellfish from melanosis. Furthermore, sodium metabisulfite is commonly employed in the treatment of effluent water to remove chlorine, as well as the purification of aldehydes and ketones. Growing population in developing countries, where waste water treatment concerns have arisen, has fueled this trend. The yearly global demand for freshwater increased to more than 60 billion cubic metres in 2018, indicating significant product demand in water treatment applications.

Increasing operating expenses and labour regulations in Belgium, Germany, and Italy have pushed the leather industry to Asian countries like India, China, and South Korea. This is due to enormous raw material supplies and the labor-intensive tannery sector, which have access to almost 20% of the global cow population. For instance, China leather exports surpassed USD 78 billion in 2018, which indicates growth potential for the sodium metabisulfite market. Sodium metabisulfite is used in solubilizing tanning extracts thereby acting as an auxiliary in decalcification and bleaching process.

 

Sodium metabisulfite is widely used in food industry, however it is observed that when the product is exposed to human in pure form can be hazardous thereby leading to serious health issues such as irritation in the respiratory tracts, dysfunctional gastrointestinal system etc. Moreover, the toxic pollutants like hydrogen sulfide gas that is emitted during downstream operations in the pulp & paper industry may likely restrain market growth.