If one positive could be drawn out of the devastating global COVID 19 crisis, it is the fact that this calamitous pandemic has made people more conscious about the need for healthier lifestyles, nutrition as well as their environmental footprint. The need to get rid of our unsustainable lifestyles has gained renewed currency in the post pandemic world. The natural corollary of this shifting consciousness has been a re-emerging interest in healthy eating as well as in naturopathic principles that focus on strengthening the human body from within.
Demand for nutraceuticals and immunity boosting foods has skyrocketed across the world as people seek to bolster themselves against the viral scare. Medicinal herbs, spices, seeds and healthy oils are replacing traditional practices in households as Google search indicated manifold jump in online searches for naturopathic remedies such as giloy and vitamin C. An emerging focus on preventive healthcare is gradually but systematically bringing about a shift in what we eat and the way we eat!
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has amended the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation, EU 64/2012, to add 27 pesticides and eight industrial chemicals into Annex I, bringing the total to 295. As a result, EU exporters are now required to notify their intentions to export them from 1 November onwards.
The global custom synthesis and manufacturing market was valued at US$271.33 billion in 2022. The market value is expected to reach US$474.94 billion by 2028.
The ocean freight industry is undergoing a massive transformation, as the technology and supply chain management tools are being improved by the day, impacting ocean freight rates.
In the second half of 2022, China unveiled the details of its data export regulations, providing further explanations to its existing laws and regulations on data.
The current energy crisis has reached an unsustainable level for the European chemical industry. For the first time ever, the EU imports more chemicals than it exports, both in volume and value, resulting in a trade deficit of € 5.6 bn for the first half of 2022.
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (also referred to as hormone disruptors or EDCs) are synthetic chemicals that are not produced by the human body and that disrupt the normal functioning of humans and animals.
The shipping industry is now returning to normality and is in a downward spiral. The cost of shipping goods from China has slumped to the lowest level in more than two years as the world economy stumbles, dimming prospects for container carriers that turned in record profits during the pandemic.
No precipitous plunge in container shipping rates, just ‘orderly’ decline.
The global food and beverage market size is expected to grow from $5.8 trillion in 2021 to $6.4 trillion in 2022 at a growth rate of 9.7%. The food and beverage market size is expected to grow to $8.9 trillion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7%.