Seasoning maker Ajinomoto Co. said Monday it will spend 6 billion yen to boost its production capacity of the artificial sweetener aspartame.

The expansion, beginning early next year and to be completed by March 2006, will push Ajinomoto's global production capacity of aspartame to 10,000 tons a year, the company said.

It said there is growing demand for the use of aspartame in low-calorie foods and beverages.

Ajinomoto, which currently has about 40 percent of the global aspartame market, aims to win a larger share as global demand for the sweetener is expanding by more than 5 percent per year on the back of consumer concerns about weight, it said.

"Recent market data show that the increasing demand for products containing aspartame, such as low-calorie soft drinks, is a worldwide phenomenon, extending beyond the United States and Europe even to many developing countries," Ajinomoto President Kunio Egashira said in a statement.

To boost production, Ajinomoto plans to add one new line at the Tokai factory in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, and upgrade facilities at its wholly owned subsidiary Ajinomoto Euro-Aspartame SAS' factory in France.

Ajinomoto said it regards aspartame as one of its core strategic products based on amino acids and intends to promote the sweetener over the long term. It also goes under the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and Equal-Measure.

More than two decades since its launch, aspartame is now authorized in 120 countries. Current global demand for the sweetener is estimated at 15,000 tons per year, it said.