Export proportion of plant extracts increased

China's import and export of plant extracts reached US $310 million in the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 46.4% year-on-year, according to data released by the China Chamber of Commerce for the import and export of pharmaceutical and health products on Tuesday 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 Generally speaking, the first quarter is the off-season for the export of plant extracts, which is the trough of the whole year However, the export of plant extracts in the first quarter of this year is different from that in previous years, with a substantial increase year-on-year, and the export market of plant extracts presents new 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 imported plant extracts are used in medicine and health products, representing the weather vane of the plant extracts market 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 export of plant extracts to the United States increased by more than 50% in recent years, while the export to Japan increased by 48.3% in the first two months, only due to the earthquake in March, the export growth showed 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 Third, essential oil plant extracts become the new favorite of the market In recent years, natural pigment and stevia extract are the varieties with rapid growth, and they are also the plant extract varieties that are more concerned in the industry, but there is little mention of another potential stock of plant extract - plant essential oil In the first quarter, the export value of plant essential oil products was US $61.952 million, an increase of 72.3% year on year, accounting for 23.3% of the export value 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 Experts from China Chamber of Commerce for import and export of medical and health products predict that the export of plant extracts will be a new record in 2011 However, the future development of China's plant extract industry still faces many challenges, such as the obvious localization trend of global plant extract, the increasingly strict national environmental protection policy to promote enterprises to continuously increase the investment cost, and a series of food safety events such as "rutin propolis", "Clenbuterol", "dyed steamed bread" in the near future give the plant extract industry a wake-up call.