2011-07-21 3093
At the 11th China Pharmaceutical Ingredients Exhibition (CPhI), the number of participating companies in the plant extract industry exceeded 180, surpassing last year's scale.
According to Chinese customs data, in the first quarter of 2011, China's imports and exports of plant extracts amounted to $310 million, representing a 46.4% year-on-year increase. Among them, exports accounted for $270 million, a 53.4% year-on-year increase, accounting for 48.4% of the total export value of traditional Chinese medicine products. The proportion of plant extracts in the export of Chinese herbal products is gradually increasing. The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products predicts that the export of plant extracts will set a new record this year.
In recent years, "returning to nature" and "green consumption" have become trends. At the same time, the international market for pharmaceutical and health products has embraced the "natural trend," and natural health products are highly respected in developed Western countries. As the main raw material for modern plant medicine preparations, plant extracts have become popular products in the international market. According to Zhang Chengwen, General Manager of Xi'an Haotian Biotechnology Co., Ltd., in recent years, the traditional export market for plant extracts, such as the United States, has entered a steady development stage with an annual growth rate of about 5%; emerging markets such as Spain and Mexico have seen a significant increase in demand for plant extracts, especially natural pigments; the EU market's demand for natural pigments has grown rapidly at an average annual growth rate of 35%. Driven by these markets, the export of plant extracts will maintain a good development trend.
Some companies have experienced a decrease in exports to Japan due to the impact of the earthquake. Zhang Peijun, Sales Manager of the International Business Department of Beijing Green Gold Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., mentioned that in previous years, exports to Japan accounted for 60% of the company's total exports, but the export situation to Japan this year is not optimistic. In response to this, some companies are trying to make up for it by exploring other markets. Currently, the sales in the South Korean, Malaysian, and Thai markets are doing well, and the next step will focus on developing the domestic health beverage market.
As a major category of traditional Chinese medicine import and export trade, the development of plant extracts is progressing rapidly. The industrialization of plant extracts is an important part of promoting the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine and technological innovation, and it has advantages and characteristics such as low development costs, high technological content, high product added value, and a broad international market. It is also an exploration method for traditional Chinese medicine to enter the international market.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global plant medicine market is approaching $40 billion. According to the Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) in the United States, the global health food market is predicted to grow at a rate exceeding 8% per year. This means that plant extracts widely used in the health food field will gain new growth opportunities.
Currently, China's plant extracts have formed a certain industrial scale, and mainstream companies in terms of production equipment and technological capabilities can compete with major extract-producing countries such as Germany, Italy, and Spain.