Imports of medicinal materials ushered in explosive growth in the first three quarters of 2021

According to China Customs statistics, in the first three quarters of 2021, China's total exports of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces reached US$970 million, a year-on-year increase of 2.
9%; imports of medicinal materials and decoction pieces increased significantly, with a total import value of US$410 million, a year-on-year increase of 102%
.
Exports open another round of growth channels The main regions for China's Chinese herbal medicine exports are Japan, South Korea and ASEAN countries
.
The demand for Chinese herbal medicines of Japanese Kampo medicine is relatively stable, and more than 80% of the medicinal materials and decoction pieces required for its production are imported
.
Japan imports about 250 million US dollars of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces from China every year
.
South Korea's self-produced medicinal materials are far from meeting the needs of the domestic market.
Most of the medicinal materials used are Chinese medicinal materials, and about 25,000 to 30,000 tons of Chinese medicinal materials and decoction pieces are imported from China every year
.
As the largest regional market for Chinese herbal medicine exports, the ASEAN region has been active in trade in recent years
.
From 2009 to 2014, the export of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces in China showed an increasing trend, and reached the peak of export in 2014, with an export value of 1.
29 billion US dollars
.
After 2014, the export of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces entered a period of fluctuation, the fluctuation of the export value basically remained within 10%, the annual export value was stable between 1 billion and 1.
2 billion US dollars, and the 10-year compound growth rate was 8.
6%
.
In contrast, the 10-year compound growth rate of Chinese patent medicines is only 4.
8%, which shows that the export growth rate of Chinese medicine raw materials is faster than that of Chinese patent medicines
.
Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, China's exports of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces have ushered in a new wave of growth
.
In 2020, the export value of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces was about 1.
31 billion US dollars, exceeding the export peak in 2014
.
According to China Customs data, in the first three quarters of 2021, the total export value of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces in China was US$970 million, a year-on-year increase of 2.
9%; the export volume was 166,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 9.
0%
.
Soaring market demand drives up export prices
.
In the first three quarters of 2021, the average export prices of most Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces have risen to varying degrees
.
From a trend point of view, the export of Chinese medicinal materials and decoction pieces has opened another round of growth channels, but the growth rate has gradually slowed down
.
In the first three quarters of 2021, the top ten export products of Chinese medicinal materials and decoction pieces are cinnamon, wolfberry, red dates, ginseng, angelica, astragalus, pinellia, Poria, cordyceps sinensis, and Codonopsis
.
Among the top ten varieties, except for wolfberry and ginseng, the export growth rate declined, other varieties showed higher export growth rate
.
The export value of red dates and Cordyceps sinensis increased by more than 50%
.
Analyzing the export varieties of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces in the past two years, it is found that the export focus is concentrated in two directions: first, the export volume of medicinal and edible varieties continues to rise, and the concept of medicinal diet and food supplements is gradually accepted by overseas markets; second, with the global new crown epidemic With the development of the pneumonia epidemic, the export volume of medicinal materials such as Astragalus, Pinellia and Codonopsis used in the "Three Medicines and Three Prescriptions" has gradually increased
.
Cinnamon is the largest variety of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces exported in China
.
In 2020, the export value of cinnamon increased by 87%; in the first half of 2021, it still maintained rapid growth, and in the second half of the year, the growth momentum slightly decreased, and the export value in the first three quarters of 2021 was 200 million US dollars
.
Guangxi is the main production area and export source of cinnamon.
Vietnam, which is adjacent to Guangxi, has naturally become the largest export market of cinnamon
.
Thanks to this, Vietnam has surpassed Japan to become the largest market for Chinese herbal medicine exports
.
Lycium barbarum is the second largest variety of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces exported in China, with a total export value of US$66.
54 million in the first three quarters of 2021
.
Hong Kong, China and the United States surpassed Taiwan, China, and became the top two markets for wolfberry exports, with export growth rates of 3.
7% and 12.
4%, respectively
.
The "Himalaya Goji Berry Juice" of the American Free Life International Company is the most popular goji berry brand in the United States, with an annual turnover of 250 million to 500 million US dollars
.
Through brand building, goji berries are widely popular in the U.
S.
market, and an 8-ounce batch of goji berries sells for $14, or about $64/kg
.
The current average export price of Chinese wolfberry medicinal materials is about 7 to 10 US dollars per kilogram, and the price difference between raw materials and finished products is 6 to 7 times.

.
There is a lot of room for import.
In recent years, the demand for imported medicinal materials in China has increased, and the demand for new varieties and new origins has also increased
.
The import of medicinal materials and decoction pieces not only makes up for the shortage of domestic resources, but also reflects the prosperity and development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry in the new era
.
The medicinal materials imported into China are mainly domestically scarce and precious varieties, such as American ginseng, frankincense, myrrh, dried blood, velvet antler, ginseng, licorice, Ghana seeds, turmeric, saffron, cumin,
etc.
In recent years, due to the shortage of domestic medicinal resources and the impact of factors such as the increase in land and labor costs, many varieties originating in China, such as windproof, turmeric, beidougen, and panshan dragon, have also been imported in large quantities to supplement the domestic demand for medicines
.
In the long run, the import of medicinal materials still has a lot of room for heavy volume and is in a period of rapid growth
.
In the past 10 years, China has imported 80,000 tons of medicinal materials annually, with an average annual import value of about 200 million US dollars
.
Compared with the annual export volume of Chinese medicinal materials and decoction pieces of 180,000 tons and the export value of about 1 billion US dollars, the import volume of medicinal materials and decoction pieces is small, but the growth momentum is very strong
.
From 2010 to 2019, the annual import volume of medicinal materials and decoction pieces in China increased from 47,000 tons to 195,000 tons, with a compound annual growth rate of 15%; the annual import value increased from US$60 million to US$360 million, with a compound annual growth rate of 20%.
, far exceeding the export growth rate of Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces
.
Affected by the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020, the import value of medicinal materials and decoction pieces was US$230 million, an increase of 2%
.
With the normalization of the epidemic in 2021, overseas enterprises will resume normal production and trade, and the import of medicinal materials and decoction pieces will increase explosively.
The import value of medicinal materials and decoction pieces in the first half of 2021 alone will be close to the total import value of 2020
.
The import value of medicinal materials and decoction pieces in the first three quarters of 2021 was US$410 million, a year-on-year increase of 102%
.
In the first three quarters of 2021, the top five imported medicinal materials and decoction pieces are deer antler, American ginseng, ginseng, saffron and frankincense
.
Except for the import value of frankincense, which was almost unchanged compared with the same period in 2020, other varieties have increased by more than 40%
.
It is worth mentioning that the import of cloves has grown rapidly in the past two years, and has risen to the seventh largest variety of imports
.
Deer antler is the most eye-catching imported medicinal material in the past two years
.
In 2019, China began to import red deer antler from New Zealand, and the price advantage enabled it to quickly open up the Chinese market
.
At present, velvet antler has become China's largest import of medicinal materials, which also makes New Zealand the second largest import market of medicinal materials in China
.
In the first three quarters of 2021, the total import of deer antler reached US$53.
2 million, a year-on-year increase of 122%
.
The import growth rate of cloves in the past two years should not be underestimated
.
In the first half of 2021, the total import of cloves was US$5.
42 million, a year-on-year increase of 23%.
The growth rate of imports in the third quarter slowed down slightly, and the total import volume in the first three quarters reached US$6.
17 million
.
The main sources of clove imports are Indonesia and Madagascar.
Madagascar was previously the largest market for clove imports.
In the first half of 2020, Indonesia surpassed Madagascar to become the largest source of clove imports
.
Multi-field applications help the development of the Chinese herbal medicine industry In recent years, the state has vigorously supported the international exchange and cooperation of Chinese medicine in terms of policies.
The "going out" of traditional Chinese medicine is inseparable from the "going out" of Chinese herbal medicines
.
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, the international community has given high praise to the role of traditional Chinese medicine, and the global application of traditional Chinese medicinal materials has reached a new level
.
The official implementation of the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" has laid a new foundation for the facilitation of foreign trade of Chinese medicinal materials, and the overseas development of Chinese medicinal materials is at the right time
.
The sustainable development of Chinese herbal medicines requires enterprises to continuously improve and improve the quality standards and specifications of Chinese herbal medicines, expand the application fields of Chinese herbal medicines, establish brands in the global market, and create star products
.
Problems such as pesticide residues, heavy metals exceeding the standard, and additives are more or less accompanied by the export of Chinese herbal medicines in China
.
In 2019, 60 batches of Chinese herbal medicines exported to the EU, the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Canada were returned or detained.
Among them, pesticide residues occurred most frequently, accounting for 47% of the total.

.
The 2020 edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China not only adjusts the testing methods for active ingredients of individual varieties, but also adds new testing items for exogenous pollutants such as heavy metals and pesticide residues, and refines the quality control elements of traditional Chinese medicinal materials
.
Therefore, improving the quality standards of Chinese herbal medicines is a long-term and critical issue facing the current industry
.
In February 2021, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Several Policies and Measures on Accelerating the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine Characteristics", which clearly proposed to implement the authentic Chinese herbal medicine upgrading project, that is, to strengthen the control over the harvesting and processing of Chinese herbal medicines, and guide high Quality and traceable Chinese herbal medicine products enter the market
.
At present, the application of traditional Chinese medicinal materials is still mainly medicinal, and the application level of medicinal and edible products in the food field is still low, and most of them are traditional uses such as soup
.
The author believes that Chinese medicinal materials can also be developed into the fields of cosmetics and feed additives
.
The addition of plant-derived ingredients in cosmetics has formed a new trend.
Many cosmetic companies are looking for natural-derived preservatives.
In-depth research on extracts derived from Chinese medicinal materials is expected to solve this problem
.
In the field of agriculture, the Announcement No.
194 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has put forward higher requirements for feed additives and antibiotics, which brings new opportunities for natural sources of Chinese medicinal materials or extracts to replace feed additives and antibiotics, and the corresponding market demand gap more than 3 million tons
.
In addition, whether it is "Chinese herbal medicine + coffee" and other Internet celebrity products, or "Himalayan wolfberry" with annual market sales of hundreds of millions of dollars, they are all new products designed from traditional classic varieties
.
In the future, the development of Chinese herbal medicines cannot rely solely on trade, but requires Chinese herbal medicine enterprises to extend downstream of the industrial chain to build Chinese herbal medicine brands
.
Only by establishing a brand image in the hearts of users can the added value of Chinese herbal medicines be continuously enhanced
.
(Author: China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products)