Fermentation products total market values

Today metabolic engineering is applied in the optimization of almost all fermentation processes, and the total market value of fermentation-derived products exceeds... 

Although a tremendous number of fermentation processes have been researched and developed to various extents, only a couple of hundred ate used commercially. Fermentation industries have continued to expand in terms of the number of new products on the market, the total volume (capacity), and the total sales value of the products. The early 1990s U.S. market for fermentation products was estimated to be in the 9-10 x 10 range. The total world market is probably three times that figure, and antibiotics continue to comprise a primary share of the industry. Other principal product categories are enzymes, several organic acids, baker s yeast, ethanol (qv), vitamins (qv), and steroid hormones (qv). 

The economic value of food, feed, and biotech pharmaceuticals is enormous. Although fermentation is a key step in the production of these products, it contributes only a small part to the total cost. This is illustrated by antibiotics. The market value of the finished drug is certainly much higher than US 20 billion per year. A toll manufacturer... 

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