Organic acid salts manufacturer Verdugt Bv of the Netherlands has announced a 3.75 cents per pound price increase for calcium and sodium propionates, effective 1 January 2004, for its customers in the North American market.
The company said that the price hike "reflects recent cost increases and reflects the products' underlying value in the market. Both ingredients are used as antinmicrobial preservatives in both the pharmaceutical and food markets. In pharma, calcium propionate is often used in topical antifungal medications, while sodium propionate appears in both oral and topical dosage forms.
Verdugt, which claims to be the world's largest producer of organic salts, recently announced a large capacity expansion enabling it to meet the increasing demand in propionates.
"It is part of the company's long-term strategy to invest in this product in order to meet the growing requirements of our global customer base," said Verdugt's director of sales and marketing Matthijs Mulder.