Australia’s Jatenergy is raising production of lactoferrin-based dairy products to meet increased demand from China, which the company believes is linked to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Sydney-listed business said lactoferrin provides a range of benefits to fight bacteria and has experienced “unprecedented demand” from China since December for its Neurio range of products containing the protein.
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“Lactoferrin plays an important role in modulating the immune system, both systemically and in the gastrointestinal tract,” Jatenergy explained. “Its unique iron-binding capacity helps to deprive pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi, of iron, an essential nutrient for their growth and replication.”
The deadly coronavirus broke out in Wuhan in central China late last year with parts of the Asian nation now on lock down. The country’s central bank cut a key interest rate today (3 February) to try and shield the economy from the contagion as the virus spread to 20 other countries. Last week, the World Health Organization declared a global emergency to help fight the outbreak.
Jatenergy said in a statement sales of its Neurio lactoferrin brands rose to AUD3.4m (US$2.2m) in January from AUD407,000 in the same month a year earlier. For the six months through December, sales of all the firm’s Neurio products amounted to AUD9.4m. Orders for February are also stacking up and are so far twice the size as a year ago at AUD2m, with March levels currently at AUD1.8n.
The statement continued: “Distributors have not advised that the restrictions of the movement of people in China will prevent the sales and distribution of the Neurio products to consumers. JAT is making every effort to increase production to meet the demand.”
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By GlobalDataJatenergy said its Neurio products are currently manufactured by a third-party but production will switch to the Australian Natural Milk Association (ANMA) in which it acquired a 70% stake last year. The company added that its current distributor has enough capacity to meet the increased demand for the time being.
Jatenergy said ANMA had also witnessed increased demand for lactoferrin-based products and is raising production accordingly.
