CJ Cheiljedang Seeks to Become World’s Top ‘Green Biotech’ Firm

South Korea's food giant CJ Cheiljedang Corp. is aiming to become the world's biggest green biotech firm, using nucleic acid, a seasoning material, as its springboard.

The company announced on May 2 that it has maintained its top place in terms of market share in the global nucleic acid market for eight years in a row and will make every effort to grow into the No. 1 global green bio firm based on its strength in nucleic acid.

CJ Cheiljedang has ranked first with an overwhelming share in the Chinese nucleic acid market, which accounts for more than two thirds of the global nucleic acid market, which is estimated at over 400 billion won (US$371.57 million) a year. In addition, the company also has more than 60 percent of the global nucleic acid market in terms of production.

The bio business can be broadly divided into three groups: red, white and green. The green bio business consists of amino acids for livestock and food seasoning materials like nucleic acid and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Red bio means pharmaceutical business or medical technology, while white bio refers to the bio energy and environmentally friendly business. Amino acids for livestock, such as lysine and tryptophan, have gained most attention in the global green bio market but nucleic acid has recently emerged as a lucrative product in the market.

According to industry sources, the global green bio market is estimated at 190 trillion won (US$176.5 billion), growing 8 percent a year on average.

CJ Cheiljedang said it was able to obtain the biggest share in the global market with its strategy to secure quality and cost competitiveness in the global nucleic acid market based on preemptive investment efforts and a high level of competence in research and development. The company has continuously targeted the global market since it first produced and released nucleic acid in 1977.