How to get out of the dilemma of "increase in quantity and decrease in price" in propolis production in China

A kind of bee product, which was not known by Chinese people more than ten years ago, has become a new health care product in the international market It is the famous propolis Propolis is known as "purple gold" in the world, because it is not only rare and precious, but also valuable for its multi-functional medicinal value According to foreign reports, propolis can be traced back to ancient Egypt more than 2500 years ago Modern archaeological discovery: ancient Egyptians have known that the purple black material from the inner wall of the beehive can be applied to the wound to make it heal quickly Later, scientists found out that propolis is not a single kind of "glue", but a special kind of slime formed by bees collecting nectar and pollen from the buds, buds and leaves of some plants, as well as resin on the bark, and mixing their own saliva and beeswax Bees use it to fill the cracks in the hive and keep the inner surface and entrance of the hive smooth In short, propolis is a kind of special "bio building material" used by bees to repair their hives Because propolis mainly comes from natural plant products such as resin, tree sap and pollen, the chemical composition of propolis is extremely complex According to analysis, propolis contains flavonoids, terpenes, aromatic oils, pollens, waxes and fatty acids, lactones and other natural compounds It is reported that British scientists have isolated more than 180 different phytochemicals from the domestic Scottish propolis It is these complex phytochemicals that give propolis so many pharmacological effects At present, the internationally recognized pharmacological effects of propolis are as follows: 1 Anti asthma; 2 Anti rheumatoid arthritis; 3 Inhibiting the growth of melanoma and other cancer cells; 4 Promoting the regeneration of skin and muscle tissue; 5 Enhancing capillaries; 6 Enhancing lung function; 7 Anti diabetes; 8 Anti periodontitis, gingivitis and other dental diseases; 9 Inhibiting bacterial growth; 10 Enhancing immunity Since the popularity of propolis products in foreign countries for more than half a century, foreign scholars have done a lot of research on the function of propolis and published numerous papers The health care function of propolis is gradually recognized and accepted by consumers Since 1990s, propolis health care products have been popular abroad According to their uses, propolis products can be divided into two parts, one is cosmetics containing propolis ingredients, the other is various propolis health food At present, propolis products with the second use occupy the largest market share According to reports, there are two kinds of propolis products that are popular in the foreign market: first, Propolis Toothpaste Scientific research has proved that propolis has a strong antibacterial effect, can inhibit the growth of oral microorganisms, and has a strong symptomatic effect on periodontitis, gingivitis and other oral diseases According to statistics, the annual sales volume of propolis cosmetics and toiletries in the international market may reach more than one billion dollars; secondly, various propolis oral health food Because propolis products are mostly alcohol extracts (Note: there are propolis products with supercritical carbon dioxide extraction on the market, but the price is more expensive), most propolis health food are sold in the form of capsules But there are also propolis oral liquid products (tinctures) As the capsule is very convenient to take and carry, propolis capsule is more popular in the market According to foreign media reports, in the past few years, the United States and other developed countries have developed a series of propolis compound oral health care products, such as propolis + Echinacea (can improve immunity), propolis + American ginseng, propolis + spirulina, propolis + Cordyceps, etc., in order to enhance the health care effect of propolis It is said that foreign manufacturers have also developed propolis aerosol for the treatment of asthma, pharyngitis and other diseases The more famous propolis aerosol brands are silverevaspray produced in South Africa, goldenknightspray and Manuka propolis aerosol produced in New Zealand, etc Recently, it has been learned that the manufacturers in South Korea (also a big beekeeping country in Asia) have developed new uses of propolis, namely "propolis shampoo" and "shampoo" Because propolis has the effect of inhibiting scalp fungi, so shampoo or shampoo can remove dandruff and stop itching by adding propolis extract Propolis shampoo and propolis shampoo are popular with Korean consumers after they come into the market Japanese researchers have recently developed a new use of propolis as a food preservative - spraying a little water solution with a small amount of propolis extract on tuna slices can greatly improve the preservation time of tuna slices Moreover, propolis residue is beneficial and harmless to human body, because propolis has the effect of anti oxygen and bacteriostasis, which is very safe to human body Propolis, as a new food preservative, will promote the new demand of the international market China has become a big propolis producer Brazil has always been the largest propolis producer and exporter in the world It is reported that Brazil exports about 200 tons of propolis every year, worth more than $100 million The total value of various oral health toothpastes and various propolis health food produced by foreign manufacturers using propolis raw materials in Brazil is more than 1.5 billion US dollars It is understood that at present, propolis is being produced and exported in about ten countries around the world But Brazil green propolis is the most famous Because scientific analysis shows that Brazil Propolis contains the highest flavonoid content, while the products of Italy, Russia and other major propolis exporting countries in the world have lower flavonoid content than Brazil Propolis Due to the low content of flavonoids in propolis, the export price of propolis in China is lower than that in Brazil, Italy and Russia In the past decade, after the Ministry of agriculture of China introduced high-yield propolis colony from abroad, the total production of propolis in China has reached more than 500 tons per year, thus surpassing Brazil to become the world's largest propolis producer and exporter However, it must be pointed out that the export price of propolis in China is only 40-50% of that in Brazil In addition, India, Bangladesh and other countries are also vigorously developing apiculture, and the labor cost of these South Asian countries is lower than that of China Therefore, the export price of propolis in India and Bangladesh is lower than that in China, which puts pressure on the export of propolis in China In recent years, China has entered a period of rapid growth of propolis products The advertisement of propolis health products on the domestic media is a clear proof However, the quality of some ultra-low price propolis health products from domestic manufacturers is questionable Because in the U.S market where propolis health products have been sold for nearly 20 years, the price of each bottle of propolis capsule is also between 30-40 dollars In China, 25 yuan per bottle of propolis health products are everywhere For those who know the international market of propolis, it is a question whether such low-cost propolis products are worth purchasing The author thinks that instead of exporting propolis raw materials at a low price or crowding in propolis oral health food production, domestic manufacturers should learn from foreign manufacturers to develop some downstream products of propolis with higher added value, such as propolis aerosol, propolis (anti periodontitis) health toothpaste and propolis food preservative, etc There are ready-made examples to follow All in all, propolis has become the main export raw material of health products in China However, the development of high-end propolis derivatives in China is not strong enough China has a huge market with a population of 1.3 billion Manufacturers should make full efforts to develop downstream products of high added value propolis in order to further improve the economic return rate of propolis products.