Citric acid is widely used as an acidulant in food and beverage industry. It helps enhance flavors along with acting as a preservative. Citric acid provides tartness to soft drinks and fruit juices. It acts as a natural alternative to sodium benzoate and sulfur dioxide, commonly used preservatives. Citric acid also maintains acidity levels and buffers solutions. With rising consumption of packaged foods and ready-to-eat meals across regions, citric acid demand is accelerating from food processing players. Additionally, it gains demand from various end-use industries including pharmaceuticals and detergents on the back of its chelating properties.

The global citric acid market is estimated to be valued at US$ 4543.45 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 13.% over the forecast period 2024 to 2031, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.

The global Citric Acid market is witnessing high growth owing to the increasing consumption of processed foods and beverages globally. Citric acid acts as a natural preservative and acidulant in food and beverages and helps enhance flavors and maintains acidity levels. It is widely used in dairy products, jams and jellies, bakery products, confectioneries, carbonated drinks, and fruit juices. The rising health awareness has also increased demand for naturally sourced and clean label ingredients like citric acid. Additionally, the growing pharmaceutical industry is also contributing to citric acid market growth as it is commonly utilized in effervescent tablets, syrups, and chelate metal ions.

Market key trends:

One of the key trends witnessed is the rising application of citric acid in personal care industry. Citric acid provides pH regulation, chelating properties and moisture retention benefits when used in personal care products like shampoos, cleansers, and lotions. Its ability to chelate metal ions makes it suitable for anti-dandruff and anti-hair loss formulations. Further, citric acid gains demand from various industrial applications including those in detergents, adhesives, and manufacturing of food additives, flavors, and fragrances, supporting overall market expansion.

Porter’s Analysis

Threat of new entrants: Low barrier to entry as raw material is abundantly available, but large corporations have established brand value and distribution networks.

Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers have moderate to high bargaining power due to availability of substitutes and undifferentiated products. However, certain brands dominate the market.

Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers have moderate bargaining power due to commodity nature of raw materials and low switching costs for buyers. However, China being a major supplier globally exerts power.

Threat of new substitutes: Threat of substitutes is moderate as citric acid has distinct functionality, but alternatives like malic acid and lactic acid pose competition.

Competitive rivalry: Intense competition exists among key players to gain market share and expand their global footprint through capacity expansion and geographical reach.

Key Takeaways

The Global Citric Acid Market Demand is expected to witness high growth over the forecast period.

Regional analysis: The Asia Pacific accounts for more than half of the global citric acid market share due to high consumption in China, India, Japan, and other developing Asian countries. China is the leading producer as well as consumer globally. North America and Europe follow Asia Pacific in terms of market size.

Key players: Key players operating in the citric acid market are ADM (US), Ingredion Incorporated (US), DuPont (US), Kerry Group (Ireland), and Roquette Frères (France). ADM and Ingredion dominate the market with global production facilities and strong distribution networks across major consuming regions

*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it