Market demand for microbial pigments
Microbial pigment production has significantly increased in geometric
proportions through current genetic engineering techniques. Microbes
also have an upper hand in versatility and productivity over higher
forms of life in the industrial-scale production of natural pigments and
dyes. The fermentation process has been increased by genetic engineering
and further research for nontoxic microbial pigments can make quantum
leaps in the economics of microbial pigment production (Galasso et al.,
2017). People all around the world have been affected by synthetic food
colouring agents because of the negative impact on synthetic pigments.
There is a need for natural pigments from biological organisms,
especially marine biofilm bacterial communities. To expand the
availability of natural colourants derived from various natural
resources world-wide. Over the past few years, a major trend that has
influenced pigment production has been the increase in globalisation,
reorganization, and internationalisation. Global Industry Analysts
predicts that demand for organic pigments and dyes will exceed 10
million tonnes by 2017. Initially dominated by suppliers from the UK,
Switzerland, and Germany, the global dye manufacturing business later
transitioned to Asia over the previous 20 years (Venil et al., 2013).
But still, there is scanty data available on the market price of
food-grade microbial pigments. Only a few pigments, such as
beta-carotene, astaxanthin, and Monascus, are available on the market.
Due to a lack of research reports on their cost and demand, it is
becoming more challenging to estimate the actual global market demand
for microbial pigments (Chatragadda & Dufossé, 2021).