A significant increase in the export of plant in the first quarter

As usual, the first quarter is the off-season for the export of plant extracts, which is the trough of the whole year However, according to the data released by China Chamber of Commerce for the import and export of medical and health products on April 28, the export of plant extracts in the first quarter of this year showed a substantial year-on-year growth, and the market showed new characteristics Among them, the export market of traditional plant extracts in the United States has grown by more than 50%, which is rare in recent years At the same time, due to the restriction of Chinese patent medicine in the EU market, the EU market has become the most concerned export market of plant extracts According to the statistics of China Customs, in the first quarter of 2011, the import and export volume of plant extracts in China was US $310 million, up 46.4% year on year Among them, the export volume reached US $270 million, an increase of 53.4% year on year, accounting for 48.4% of the export volume of traditional Chinese medicine, and the proportion of plant extracts in the export of traditional Chinese medicine products gradually increased According to the analysis of medical insurance chamber of Commerce, plant extracts in China in the first quarter of this year mainly show the following characteristics: first, the export market of traditional plant extracts has recovered The United States and Japan are the traditional and largest markets for the export of plant extracts in China Most of the plant extracts imported from the two countries are used to produce medicines and health products In the first quarter, China's exports of plant extracts to the United States and Japan were US $42.057 million and US $36.086 million, with an increase of 66.2% and 19.8% respectively In particular, the growth rate of export of plant extracts to the United States is rare in recent years, which has exceeded 50%; the growth rate of export to Japan in the first two months has reached 48.3% Due to the earthquake in March, the growth rate of export to Japan shows a short-term decline This indicates that the global market demand for medicinal and health care plant extracts is increasing, and the export market of plant extracts is likely to usher in a new high-speed growth period Second, the EU market of Chinese patent medicine is limited, stimulating new demand for plant extracts In the first quarter, EU market became the most eye-catching export market of plant extracts EU countries, mainly Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, imported plant extracts from China in the first quarter increased by nearly or more than 100% Most of the imported plant extracts are also used for plant medicine and food supplements The European Union is one of the world's largest vegetable drug markets and one of the main destinations for the export of Chinese patent medicines Until April 30, 2011, when the European Union's "directive on the registration procedure of traditional botanical drugs" came to an end, no domestic traditional Chinese medicine enterprise had announced its successful registration If the short-term domestic policy is not adjusted, Chinese patent medicine will be forced to withdraw from the EU market, which will leave a huge growth space for China's plant extract export, which is one of the main reasons for the doubling growth of China's plant extract export to the EU in the first quarter Therefore, it can be predicted that China's export of EU plant extracts will be in a blowout state for quite a long time in the future Third, essential oil plant extracts have become a new favorite in the market In the first quarter, the export volume of plant essential oil products was 61.952 million US dollars, an increase of 72.3% year on year, accounting for 23.3% of the export volume of plant extracts Among them, eucalyptus leaf oil is the largest export of plant essential oil products, with an export volume of 31.82 million US dollars in the first quarter, up 75.8% year on year In the first quarter, 4 of the top 10 enterprises in the export volume of plant extracts mainly export plant essential oil products, mostly concentrated in Yunnan, Guangdong and other southern regions In recent years, natural pigment and stevia extract are the varieties with rapid growth, which are also the plant extract varieties concerned by the industry However, there is little mention of another "potential stock" of plant extract - plant essential oil Plant essential oil and perfume can be widely used in food additives, cosmetics, Chinese patent medicine and other fields Fourth, emerging markets deserve attention The export market of emerging plant extracts represented by Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and Russia deserves attention In the first quarter, China's export volume of plant extracts to these countries increased by more than 100%, and the export volume to Brazil increased by 352% The main export products of plant extracts to Brazil are mainly for medical and health purposes Most of these countries have huge population and consumption potential, which is likely to become a new growth point of China's extract export in the future Experts from the traditional Chinese Medicine Department of the chamber of Commerce of medical insurance predict that the export of plant extracts will be a new record in 2011 But on the other hand, the reality is not too optimistic The future development of China's plant extract industry still faces many challenges For example, the global trend of plant extract localization is obvious The increasingly strict national environmental protection policy urges enterprises to continuously increase investment costs Recently, a series of food safety events such as "rutin propolis", "Clenbuterol" and "dyed steamed bread" have also raised plants The industry of picking up goods rings the alarm.