Experts suggest building a strategic reserve library, where drinking traditional Chinese medicine for a day costs 100 yuan: there are Chinese medicinal herbs with a price increase of over 80%. Chinese medicinal herbs | country | price increase

Since June this year, the continuous rise in prices of traditional Chinese medicine across the country has attracted attention from all parties. According to data from professional websites of traditional Chinese medicine, common Chinese medicinal materials such as Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis pilosula, Peony bark, Coptis chinensis, Atractylodes macrocephala, and licorice all experienced significant price increases in the first half of this year. In recent days, reporters have found that the prices of traditional Chinese medicine in Guangzhou have also generally increased.

After the price increase of traditional Chinese medicine, it has a significant impact on both the upstream and downstream industrial chains. Some patients who have been taking traditional Chinese medicine for a long time have reported that the price of a single dose of nourishing Chinese medicine has increased from 60 yuan in the past to 100 yuan. Experts suggest establishing a nationally coordinated strategic reserve of traditional Chinese medicine to stabilize price fluctuations.

Wholesale market:

Chinese herbal medicine with a price increase of over 80%. Merchants claim that the price increase will affect sales

The Qingping Traditional Chinese Medicine Professional Market located in Liwan District is an important wholesale market for traditional Chinese medicine in southern China. Liao Guoan, who is engaged in wholesale of Chinese medicinal materials in the market, told that there are more than ten types of Chinese medicinal materials placed on Liao Guoan's stall, all of which originate from other places. He said that the prices of traditional Chinese medicine have increased since 2021, and this year's increase is particularly significant. "The price of sour jujube kernels as a unified commodity has reached 900 yuan/kg, while the price of Angelica sinensis as a unified commodity has risen to 250 yuan/kg."

He told reporters that prices of common Chinese medicinal materials such as Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis pilosula, Peony bark, Coptis chinensis, Atractylodes macrocephala, Paeonia lactiflora, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Fangfeng, and Zaoren have all increased, with some increasing by over 80% compared to the same period last year. In June of this year, Liao Guoan also visited multiple traditional Chinese medicine planting areas in Guangxi and Jiangxi to learn about the planting situation on site. But he said that as wholesalers, they did not benefit from the rising prices of raw materials for traditional Chinese medicine. He told reporters that since the price increase of sour jujube kernels, sales have been consistently low, and the cheapest version of Cistanche deserticola costs 400 yuan/kg, with very few buyers; The prices of common Chinese medicinal materials such as Cuscuta chinensis, Chaihu, Banzhilian, Banlangen, etc. have also increased by more than 50%. After the price increase, sales have decreased significantly, and now he can only sell online to increase sales.

At Guangzhou International Medical Port, some merchants engaged in wholesale of nourishing Chinese medicinal materials also told reporters that the prices of Chinese medicinal materials have continued to rise this year. Wei Fang, the manager of a certain medicinal herb store, told reporters that the prices of Chinese medicinal herbs have been rising since the beginning of this year, and this round of price increases is still ongoing. The direct impact of the price increase is that a large part of the sales of traditional Chinese medicine categories have decreased. "We also purchase from the place of origin, and if the purchase price is too high, we can only sell at a high price."

Planter:

The difficulty in planting traditional Chinese medicine did not immediately benefit from the price increase

Yan Yongmian has been engaged in the cultivation of traditional Chinese medicine for more than 20 years. He said, "In the past, single varieties of traditional Chinese medicine had a relatively common price increase. However, this year, the large quantities of traditional Chinese medicine, such as Ophiopogon japonicus, Codonopsis pilosula, Chuanbei, Huangqi, Angelica sinensis, Shayuanzi, and natural bezoar, are all on the rise, indicating that the market situation is somewhat abnormal."

Yan Yongmian and her partner have contracted many mountainous areas in Zengcheng, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Qingyuan and other places to plant Chinese medicinal materials, with a total planting area of over 10000 acres. Every weekend, he visits the plantation to check the growth of Chinese medicinal materials. Despite the recent increase in prices of traditional Chinese medicine, Yan Yongmian has not been overjoyed. "The planting cycle of traditional Chinese medicine is long, and even if prices rise recently, farmers may not immediately benefit. Especially for high-quality authentic traditional Chinese medicine, strict technical standards need to be implemented in seed selection, planting management, and other aspects. An increase in yield usually takes more than 5 years."

The hardships of planting traditional Chinese medicine are far beyond the imagination of others. Yan Yongmian introduced that taking Atractylodes macrocephala as an example, fertilization, pesticide application, and field management should not be careless in all aspects. Once one link goes wrong, it will lead to no harvest. "Atractylodes macrocephala is afraid of water, and if it is not drained in time after rain, it will die. After harvesting, Atractylodes macrocephala cannot be replanted continuously, and other crops must be planted on the same plot of land first. It can only be replanted in a few years, so it is very valuable." He also introduced that the commonly used bulk Chinese medicinal herb variety Fangfeng is also a Chinese medicinal herb that needs careful care, and its planting cycle takes 3-5 years. Even if there is a good market, it cannot be harvested in advance. "Harvesting in advance may not meet the efficacy standards," he said.

Fluctuations in production, rising demand, influx of capital

Multiple reasons leading to an increase in the price of traditional Chinese medicine

In Yan Yongmian's view, the price increase of traditional Chinese medicine is cyclical. He stated that there are several reasons for the price increase of traditional Chinese medicine in this round:

One reason is that nowadays, farmers are generally facing significant cost pressures. In the past few years, due to low prices, some farmers reduced their planting area, and many people chose to abandon their crops. As a result, prices naturally rose due to low quantities.

Secondly, the demand for traditional Chinese medicine is increasing. With the deepening recognition of traditional Chinese medicine by the general public, the market demand for traditional Chinese medicine health care is also increasing.

The third reason is that the cultivation of traditional Chinese medicine is easily affected by weather, and the yield fluctuates greatly. If it is too hot or too cold, it will result in poor harvests. In recent years, droughts or floods in some areas where traditional Chinese medicine is grown in China have caused a reduction in the production of traditional Chinese medicine.

Fourthly, hot money has flooded into the Chinese herbal medicine market, boosting prices. At the beginning of this year, a pharmaceutical company learned that Yan Yongmian was planting a large area of Chinese medicinal materials and offered to purchase all the Chinese medicinal materials he planted, but he refused. "Firstly, most of the Chinese medicinal materials we plant have stable sales. Secondly, Chinese medicinal materials have a cyclical nature and can only be harvested in the mature season without speculation."

As a senior practitioner, he believes that the recent rise in prices of some Chinese medicinal materials is suspected of hoarding and hype. "Taking Angelica sinensis as an example, with the influx of capital, speculators first purchase mature Angelica sinensis seedlings in the market, and then when new Angelica sinensis seedlings are to be planted the next year, they purchase Angelica sinensis seedlings at a high price from the growers. As a result, old Angelica sinensis in the market is acquired, while new Angelica sinensis has not yet been listed, and the price will be pushed up."

Transmission of "price increase effect":

Drug companies face significant cost pressures, and a single dose of traditional Chinese medicine by citizens may rise to 100 yuan

The traditional Chinese medicine industry chain includes upstream cultivation of traditional Chinese medicine, midstream processing and manufacturing of traditional Chinese medicine, and downstream circulation of traditional Chinese medicine. Nowadays, the effects of rising prices of traditional Chinese medicine are also being transmitted to various links in the industry chain.

Manager Zhang of a pharmaceutical company told reporters that the impact of rising prices of traditional Chinese medicine is gradually being transmitted to pharmaceutical companies. "If the price of traditional Chinese medicine continues to rise, medical institutions will also be affected." He explained that the continuous rise in the price of traditional Chinese medicine has pushed up the cost of traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations raw materials, while the bidding purchase price and terminal price of medicine in medical institutions will not be adjusted in the short term, and pharmaceutical enterprises will encounter a "double squeeze" in the purchase of raw materials, production and sales, resulting in higher operating and production costs. "Nowadays, when we go to the market to purchase Chinese medicinal materials, prices are increasing. However, the Chinese medicinal materials we supply to hospitals are purchased at pre signed contract prices, so we are facing significant cost pressures in drug procurement."

Manager Zhang stated that pharmaceutical companies have a price fluctuation mechanism when supplying Chinese medicinal materials to medical institutions. According to changes in raw material prices, the purchase price may fluctuate by around 10%; However, in reality, the increase in some scarce Chinese medicinal materials is not limited to this range, which will lead to an increase in production costs.

The vice president of a certain public hospital told reporters that because the supply of traditional Chinese medicine in the hospital is conducted through open bidding, with stable sources and relatively fixed agreed prices, it will take some time for the impact of rising raw material prices to spread to the hospital. "The prices of traditional Chinese medicine decoctions and decoction pieces in our hospital are relatively fixed, so consumers will not feel the impact temporarily. However, citizens who receive traditional Chinese medicine treatment or take traditional Chinese medicine in medical institutions outside of public hospitals must have already felt the impact of the rising prices of traditional Chinese medicine."

At a traditional Chinese medicine clinic located in Kemulang, more than ten residents living nearby have been here for a long time to decoct and take traditional Chinese medicine. Fang Bo, who is in his 60s this year, has been taking traditional Chinese medicine to nourish the liver and kidneys for three months. Due to the rising cost of traditional Chinese medicine, the price of the same traditional Chinese medicine has now increased from over 60 yuan to 100 yuan. However, even so, Ding Weiqiang, the head of the outpatient department, told reporters that this is already a "friendship price". "After the price increases, the number of people choosing traditional Chinese medicine treatment will inevitably decrease, and people will pay more attention to the price." Ding Weiqiang said that in the past, taking traditional Chinese medicine for a few tens of yuan was enough, but after the general price increase of traditional Chinese medicine, drinking it for a day may cost 100 yuan, which will increase the cost for patients who take traditional Chinese medicine for a long time.

Expert advice:

Establishing a national coordinated strategic reserve database for traditional Chinese medicine

The China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine recently issued a proposal stating that the prolonged abnormal increase in medicinal material prices is bound to have adverse effects on the healthy and stable development of the industry. The association calls for effective suppression of abnormal price fluctuations in the Chinese herbal medicine market, ensuring drug quality and market supply, and firmly opposes any form of price manipulation or speculation in herbal medicine.

Liu Hongwei, a senior expert of the Chinese herbal medicine planting and breeding special committee of the association and deputy director of the third expert committee, also stated that the sharp rise and fall in Chinese herbal medicine prices ultimately harm the entire industry. "If growers follow the trend because of the price rise, they are likely to face a price collapse because of the large planting area; and if the price of Chinese medicinal materials rises rapidly, it will also be a big test for the supply of traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations to pharmaceutical enterprises."

Liu Hongwei once conducted a survey, and found that there are 14 types of Chinese medicinal materials with a normal annual consumption of over 50000 tons in China, 53 types with a consumption of 10000 to 50000 tons, 54 types with a consumption of 5000 to 10000 tons, and 150 types with a consumption of 1000 to 5000 tons. "After deducting more than 50 varieties with abundant resources and stable prices, there are approximately 220 varieties that need to be focused on."

Liu Hongwei suggested starting with varieties with an annual consumption of over 5000 tons nationwide, and organizing relevant experts to study and determine the varieties, specifications, quantities, prices, and inventory rotation of Chinese medicinal materials to be collected and stored by the country. "Especially, it is necessary to establish a classification and grading management directory for Chinese medicinal materials, establish a reserve list of Chinese medicinal materials and a list of designated reserve enterprises, establish a special risk fund, organize relevant experts to evaluate the varieties and designated reserve enterprises of Chinese medicinal materials, establish a nationally coordinated Chinese medicinal material reserve database, gradually form a strategic reserve system for Chinese medicinal materials with moderate scale, reasonable structure, scientific management, and efficient operation. At the same time, it can be coordinated at the national level to establish relatively independent strategic reserve databases for Chinese medicinal materials in mega cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Tianjin, and set up dynamic quality assurance warehouses for the circulation of Chinese medicinal materials in authentic medicinal material production areas."

In Liu Hongwei's view, the strategic reserve of traditional Chinese medicine can play a role as a "reservoir" and implement "abundant storage but insufficient replenishment". "When the prices of certain medicinal herbs are low and growers need support, strategic reserves can be increased to solve the problem of 'cheap medicine harms farmers', while avoiding the risk of high price reserves and preventing price spikes and drops."