Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, the cost of everything has gone up. From food items to cars, supply has become more limited with increasing demands, thus creating a massive price increase. The vaping industry as a whole has taken some hits during this pandemic with unforeseen price increases in key ingredients such as, Vegetable Glycerin, Propylene Glycol and Nicotine. Not to mention the massive price hike in shipping internationally.

As the vaping industry relies heavily on a couple ingredients to create their e-juice, it’s apparent that they keep the juice flowing, even if it means paying a higher price. To put things into perspective, a barrel of VG pre-pandemic cost around $500 and moving into 2022, a barrel now costs an upwards of $1500, not including the cost of shipping from China to Canada. But what’s causing the price increase of Vegetable Glycerin in 2022? A large factor in this is the production of Hand Gel. As Hand Gel became one of the hottest items during the pandemic, a ton of factories switched over to producing Hand Gel, whose main ingredient is Vegetable Glycerine. Next, the price of oil significantly dropped during 2020, which caused a decrease in demand for bio-diesel. Vegetable Glycerin happens to be the main bi-product for Bio-diesel. With the increase in demand for Vegetable Glycerin and decrease in production, it’s created quite the problem for vape manufacturers worldwide.

The other main culprit causing the rise in price of e-juice is the increase in international shipping. As we make our way into 2022, shipping costs remain at an all time high. Between Asia and North America, it costs $2,500 - $3,000 for a 40-ft container - that’s 25-

40% higher than last year. The primary reason for the sudden spike is, you guessed it, COVID-19. The pandemic affected global supply chains and shipping reflects that. There was also a massive shipping container shortage due to the pandemic. China’s economy opened back up way earlier than the US and EU, however, the majority of the containers were stuck there. As you can imagine, every spot on a container during the past 2 years has increased in price dramatically. Prices for spots on containers have risen to $3,500 compared to $1,800 the year before.