Joy and worry with the export of plant extracts

With the development of society and the improvement of living standards, people's attention to disease has changed from simple treatment to focus on disease prevention Under the influence of the new medical model, the natural health food with health care function is favored Since the end of 1990s, plant extracts have attracted more and more attention from the pharmaceutical and food industry In recent years, the plant extract industry has become one of the fastest growing industries in China, with an annual production growth rate of more than 15% and an export growth rate of more than 20% According to customs statistics, in the first half of this year, China exported 16500 tons of plant extracts, totaling 226 million US dollars For the first time, the export volume exceeded that of traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese herbal pieces, becoming the largest export product of traditional Chinese medicine, accounting for 44.62% of the total export value of traditional Chinese medicine, with a year-on-year growth of 45.76% Plant extracts can only be regarded as small varieties in traditional Chinese medicine products When the export of traditional Chinese medicine is confronted with various barriers from abroad, the emergence of plant extracts makes the export of traditional Chinese medicine reappear the dawn However, there are problems behind the prosperity of the industry that cannot be ignored There are some problems in the export enterprises of plant extracts, such as over cutting and gradual depletion of natural resources At present, the technical equipment level of the domestic plant extract industry is uneven, high-tech enterprises and workshop factories coexist, decentralized extraction results in a great waste of industrial resources, and the lack of planning for plant resource cutting, does not consider the long-term recycling of plants, destructive mining; in addition, foreign enterprises take low-cost plunder of Chinese plant medicine resources Driven by interests, enterprises seriously destroy natural resources, such as Taxus in Yunnan, liquorice and Ephedra in Gansu, etc The production process of some enterprises is polluted and the export of products is affected On the one hand, there are air and water pollution problems in the production process of enterprises; on the other hand, pesticide and heavy metal residues have affected the entry of Chinese plant extract products into the international market, especially the EU market The competition in the export market is chaotic and the industrial products are not concentrated With the rapid development of the industry, the threshold for entry is too low, and a large number of enterprises flow in without restriction, resulting in a large number of participating enterprises, relatively small scale, uneven quality and chaotic price standards No matter how small the scale of any domestic plant extraction production enterprise, there are generally more than 20 varieties, but there are few enterprises with core varieties, and few companies with large scale and independent development and scientific research ability The R & D is weak and the technological content of products is low Enterprises do not have market R & D and technology R & D power What to take and what to discard are not very clear They blindly follow the market and product selection, and have a single product At the same time, lack of deep processing technology, backward experimental and testing equipment, lack of core products, and weak follow-up development How to reduce the damage to resources and environment and change the image of low quality and low price in the world has become a problem faced by Chinese plant extract industry Here, on the one hand, it needs the self-consciousness of enterprises, on the other hand, it needs the government's policy constraints, and at the same time, the industry association should also play its role The government should focus on cultivating leading enterprises in this industry We should strengthen support in fiscal, foreign trade, tax and other policies, and coordinate the relationship between industrial concentration and recycling To establish the industry standard of plant extracts in line with international standards According to international standards, establish a complete and standardized industry quality standard system for each extract variety, conduct animal toxicology test, and clarify the metabolism mechanism, especially control the heavy metal content, pesticide residue and microbial limit of the product We will moderately develop resources and curb indiscriminate mining For the varieties like liquorice that are related to environment and Taxus that are related to both ecology and species safety, we should issue strict laws and regulations, start with raw materials, carry out mining selectively and in a planned way, and collect and purchase when necessary, so as to effectively regulate market supply and affect international market prices; at the same time, we should encourage production enterprises to establish raw material bases and guide enterprises to increase innovation , develop alternatives Establish brand awareness of export enterprises We will increase scientific research and development, cultivate excellent varieties, and establish corporate and product brands Domestic plant extract enterprises have a strong regional concentration, "resource sharing" has also produced a "good fortune and bad fortune" relationship, if the enterprise does not have its own brand, it is easy to be "implicated" by other enterprises in the same region Industry associations should give full play to the role of industry spokesmen Industry associations should coordinate the interests of all parties, provide open and transparent information platform for member units, help and coach enterprises, even participate in international negotiations on behalf of enterprises, safeguard the overall interests of the industry and even the country, and end the situation that Chinese enterprises are fighting for their own ends, scattering sand, competing to reduce prices, and allowing foreign enterprises to enjoy the benefits The plant extract industry has just started, and it is normal that some problems are exposed It is important for export enterprises to sum up experiences and learn lessons to ensure the healthy development of the food extract industry.