On the demand side, these feed and food products cannot be substituted. Production can be either via a chemical or fermentation process. It does appear, however, to be easier to switch between the production of B2 for feed and B2 for food and pharmaceuticals with modern fermentation plant, albeit with some sunk costs. The geographic market is at least as wide as Europe and may be world-wide. Vitamins B2 and C are produced in only a relatively small number of plants throughout the world, and consequently are exported widely.
Market shares are broadly similar on either a European or a world-wide basis.
In 1999, the US Department of Justice imposed record fines on the vitamin industry for the operation of a worldwide cartel. The HHI is used, for example, in the US Merger Guidelines. While we cannot be certain that the Chinese suppliers should be considered as a single entity for the purposes of calculating the HHI, third party comments have suggested that it is correct to do so. Should the HHI be calculated without a single Chinese supplier, the HHI figures would clearly be lower. It would however, still be in excess of 1800 for both B2 feed and B2 food.