In 2009, the import and export of plant extracts highlighted the driving force for the export of traditional Chinese Medicine

In contrast to the overall foreign trade situation, China's pharmaceutical and health care products showed extraordinary performance in 2009, with the import and export volume increasing by 9.8% year on year The import and export of plant extracts is more prominent, with the import and export volume reaching US $820 million, a year-on-year increase of 36.1%; the export volume is US $660 million, a year-on-year increase of 23.7%; the import volume is US $160 million, a year-on-year increase of 129.2% The export volume of plant extracts accounts for 44.8% of the export volume of traditional Chinese medicine, which is the main driving force for the export of traditional Chinese medicine Food additives and flavors and fragrances were popular In 2009, plant extracts were not affected by the financial crisis, and exports remained stable Exports showed a slight fluctuation in the first half of the year, showing a rapid growth in most months in the second half of the year, and an increase of nearly 100% in September The monthly import volume is not as stable as the export volume, with obvious fluctuations Especially in the fourth quarter, imports increased significantly year-on-year and month on month In the fourth quarter, glycyrrhizinate and its glycosides were the main varieties with high import growth In addition, the import growth of some food plant extracts was also obvious The plant extract industry has a certain cluster effect, and the plant extract industry in each province has its own characteristics For example, Shandong Province mainly produces plant extracts for food additives, while Zhejiang and Shanghai mainly produce plant extracts for medicinal and health products From the statistical data, the export volume of export food additives and perfume and plant extracts in 2009 increased substantially For example, Shandong and Jiangxi, the export of Stevia extract increased greatly, and the export of Yunnan flavor and fragrance increased significantly Provinces and cities that export plant extracts for medicinal and health products, such as Zhejiang and Beijing, saw a small decline in exports It can also be seen from the export ranking of enterprises that the export product structure is mainly composed of Stevia extract, natural pigment and other food additives, while the export product structure is mainly composed of medicinal and health care products According to the order of export volume, the export enterprises of plant extracts in 2009 are: Ganzhou Julong high tech Industry Co., Ltd., Hebei Chenguang Natural Pigment Co., Ltd., Ningbo lvzhijian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai Jincun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Qingdao Runde Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone Maifu Biological Products Co., Ltd., Beijing Green Jinke Biotechnology Co., Ltd Limited by Share Ltd, Sinochem (Qingdao) Industrial Co., Ltd., Dexin hang (Zhuhai) flavor and fragrance Co., Ltd and Xi'an Hao Tian Bioengineering Technology Co., Ltd In 2009, a branch of Stevia extract, which was exported to the market, included vanillin and its derivatives, stevia extract, etc The international demand for vanillin and its derivatives is relatively stable, and the export volume is relatively stable, which is maintained at about $1 million per month In the second half of the year, the price has increased slightly, especially in December Liquorice juice and extract are mainly used in food and tobacco industry, and the price is relatively stable In the month with large export volume fluctuation, the main reason is that the economic instability affects the monthly trading volume In the second quarter, the export volume fluctuated greatly, and the average export price rose significantly in the fourth quarter Stevia extract is one of the most rapidly growing single species of plant extract in 2009 In 2009, the export of Stevia extract reached US $84.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 132%; its price basically showed a slow growth, only in October and November appeared a turning low, and the future market is still optimistic India and Malaysia doubled their market growth In 2009, the most eye-catching export countries of plant extracts were India and Malaysia, with a year-on-year growth of more than 100% These two markets are similar to the Mexican market, which performed prominently last year They are both driven by the sharp increase of single commodity exports Most of the commodities exported to India are concentrated in natural plant extracts, such as natural pigments, flavors and fragrances More than 90% of the commodities exported to Malaysia are Stevia extract, which are widely used in food industry Japan and the United States are still the two most important export markets of plant extracts in China The Japanese market is relatively stable, and the price and export volume of plant extracts have maintained a steady increase Most of the plant extracts imported from Japan are extracted and produced by Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises in China, such as Japan's Kimura and other enterprises The export volume of the U.S market increased significantly year on year, mainly because the price of extract exported to the U.S increased significantly, with an average increase of 49.5% Waiting for the demand to pick up in 2009, under the unfavorable world trade environment, plant extracts still achieved good results It is believed that with the impact of the financial crisis in 2010 and the improvement of the world trade environment, the demand for plant extracts in the international community will increase significantly, and then it will usher in another period of vigorous development (Luo Yang, Yu Zhibin, Huowei, China Medical Insurance Association)