Multiple varieties out of stock! Hospitals are starting to worry... prices of traditional Chinese medicine are rising three times a day. Medicinal materials | Traditional Chinese Medicine hospitals | varieties
In previous years, with rising temperatures, the Chinese herbal medicine market often entered a off-season, but this year it has gone against the norm, with prices of Chinese herbal medicine continuing to rise. Since the beginning of this year, the comprehensive 200 index of traditional Chinese medicine has once exceeded historical highs. On July 17th, the index increased by 34.55% compared to the same period last year. Recently, Da Wan News reporters interviewed multiple traditional Chinese medicine hospitals and pharmacies and found that although the sales prices have not been adjusted, some medicinal materials are out of stock. Some hospitals have stocked more than 30 varieties, including commonly used "essential" medicinal materials in prescriptions. Due to the increase in purchase prices, some traditional Chinese medicine stores are also facing adjustments in the sales prices of medicinal materials recently.
Keywords: Market dynamics
Some Chinese medicinal materials have three prices per day
Since the beginning of this year, the prices of traditional Chinese medicine have risen rapidly, attracting social attention. According to the official website of the Chinese Medicinal Materials Information Center of the Chinese Medicine Association, as of July 17th, the comprehensive 200 index of Chinese medicinal materials was 3537.02 points, a historical high, an increase of 34.55% compared to the same period last year.
On July 17th, the comprehensive 200 index of Chinese medicinal materials was 3537.02 points.
It is understood that the Comprehensive 200 Index of Chinese Medicinal Materials is an index based on the daily market prices of the main 200 bulk Chinese medicinal materials circulating in the Chinese market, calculated through weighted synthesis, to reflect the overall price situation and fluctuation range of the Chinese medicinal material market in China.
"Since the beginning of this year, the prices of traditional Chinese medicine in China have rapidly increased, and some medicinal materials have experienced a situation of three prices per day." According to a report released by the Bozhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoction Industry Promotion Association, from a specific category perspective, common Chinese medicinal materials such as licorice, white peony, sour jujube kernels, Angelica sinensis, Chaihu, Jue Shen, Platycodon grandiflorus, peony bark, Wuling Zhi, Fatty Sea, Atractylodes macrocephala, Forsythia suspensa, etc. have seen the highest price increases. Among them, the market price of Angelica sinensis has exceeded 140 yuan/kg, with a rise of up to 75% in the past month; The monthly growth rate of Sanqi and Baizhu also exceeded 60%.
Coincidentally, the report on the abnormal increase in prices of traditional Chinese medicine by the Professional Committee of Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoction Pieces of the Jiangsu Pharmaceutical Industry Association also pointed out that through a survey conducted by Yaotong.com on the prices of commonly used bulk medicinal materials in major trading markets such as Bozhou, Anguo, Chengdu, and Yulin, over 200 conventional varieties have an annual increase of over 50%, 100 conventional varieties have an annual increase of over 100%, 25 commonly used bulk medicinal materials have an annual increase of over 200%, and individual varieties such as Jigucao have an annual increase of even reaching 400-900%. Through investigation of the market situation of Chinese medicinal materials on the Chinese Medicinal Materials World Network, some situations are more serious.
Keywords: journalist visits
Some essential medicinal materials in hospitals are out of stock
The butterfly effect of the skyrocketing prices of traditional Chinese medicine is gradually spreading to the consumer end. Affected by prices, some traditional Chinese medicine hospitals are out of stock of "essential" medicinal materials, and retail pharmacies are also facing inventory pressure. With the increase in purchase prices, sales prices may be adjusted in the near future.
"This year's price increase is very unusual, with most Chinese herbal medicines increasing in price, including some large quantities of 'essential' herbs such as Angelica sinensis, Astragalus membranaceus, and Shayuanzi, with an increase of more than 50%." Ju Xiaolong, the director of the pharmacy at Bozhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, admitted that he has never encountered this kind of market this year. The price of the commonly used medicine for treating insomnia, sour jujube kernel, has risen from over 230 yuan/jin last year to over 1100 yuan/jin today. In addition to commonly used categories of Chinese medicinal materials, the increase in wild Chinese medicinal materials is also relatively large, such as cat claw grass, Chonglou, etc. Ju Xiaolong stated that due to the agreement signed between the hospital and the supplier, the purchase and sales prices have not been adjusted, but some medicinal materials are currently out of stock.
The director of the pharmacy department at a traditional Chinese medicine hospital in Hefei admitted that the continuous rise in prices of traditional Chinese medicine has put great pressure on the hospital. "We have signed an agreement with the supplier on the price, and currently the selling price has not been adjusted. However, if the price of traditional Chinese medicine continues to rise like this, it will inevitably affect the manufacturer's supply to the hospital."
Approaching noon, during the peak period of medication collection, the reporter visited a traditional Chinese medicine hospital in the provincial capital for a visit. The hospital hall was filled with patients waiting for medication collection. The reporter randomly interviewed several patients, all of whom stated that they had not yet felt the price increase of traditional Chinese medicine, but some medicinal materials were out of stock in the hospital and could only be purchased on their own. The reporter learned that there are currently over 30 types of medicinal materials out of stock in the hospital, including commonly used medicines such as Angelica sinensis, Chaihu, and Atractylodes macrocephala.
▲ Some of the "essential" medicinal materials in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals are out of stock.
What is the price of Chinese medicinal materials sold in pharmacies? The reporter visited three or four chain pharmacies yesterday, and the staff all stated that there is currently no price adjustment. The staff of a drugstore on Meishan Road in Hefei said that the price of the best-selling traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations such as Xiaochaihu Granules, Banlangen Granules and Qingkailing Granules had not risen. "However, the purchase prices of Chinese medicinal materials have been increasing since the end of June. Some medicinal materials have run out of stock in hospitals, and many patients have come to us to pick them up. However, due to significant price fluctuations, we have not prepared too much inventory." The staff member revealed that due to the increase in purchase prices, they may adjust their sales prices in the near future.
Keywords: Reasons for price increase
Affected by multiple factors such as capital entering hot speculation
Why has there been an abnormal rise in the off-season this year?
"The price increase of traditional Chinese medicine in previous years has a market pattern and cyclical changes, but this year many traditional Chinese medicine prices have been abnormally rising, often due to deep-seated or various reasons." An industry insider who has long been engaged in price analysis of traditional Chinese medicine stated that this year's abnormal price fluctuations are not unrelated to capital hunting.
The Bozhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoction Industry Promotion Association also analyzed the main reasons for the sharp rise in prices of traditional Chinese medicine, including participation in hoarding and speculation in multiple links, the emergence of a large amount of external free capital, and favorable policies promoting investment enthusiasm. And the market price cycle, downstream consumer demand recovery, difficulties in planting traditional Chinese medicine, supply chain shortages, and improvement of medicinal material quality standards.
The head of the pharmacy department of a tertiary traditional Chinese medicine hospital in the province believes that there are several reasons for the continuous rise in the market for traditional Chinese medicine this year. "During the epidemic, traditional Chinese medicine hospitals played an important role, increasing people's recognition of traditional Chinese medicine and increasing the usage rate of Chinese herbal medicine compared to previous years. In addition, weather has also had a certain impact on the prices of Chinese herbal medicine, such as floods in some Chinese medicine production areas and reduced local production, which naturally led to an increase in prices."
The new version of the 2020 Chinese Pharmacopoeia sets new standards for the safety of traditional Chinese medicine, further strengthening the control of heavy metals and harmful elements in medicinal herbs, prohibited pesticide residues, fungal toxins, and endogenous toxic components. "The improvement of quality standards for medicinal materials has driven up planting costs. For example, the cultivation of Angelica sinensis in old land with pesticide residues is quite serious, and products with higher quality are more expensive," a merchant who has been engaged in traditional Chinese medicine sales for a long time told reporters.
On June 25th, the official website of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Information Center of the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine released a review titled "Bozhou Drug Market June Review: Chinese Medicine Index Remains High, Market Merchants' Spectatory Sentiment Increased". It was mentioned that June was originally the off-season for traditional medicine, but due to the rapid growth of Chinese medicine prices since 2023, the current drug market continues to experience price increases, and hot varieties continue to occur. Considering that not only the short-term supply and demand imbalance of some Chinese medicine materials is the core factor leading to the continuous rise in Chinese medicine prices, but also the concerns of related enterprises and medication units about the continued rise in prices, resulting in stocking demand, as well as the sudden occurrence of extreme weather such as high temperatures, floods, droughts in some regions this year and the impact of the three-year epidemic, most varieties have been affected. The result of combining many comprehensive factors such as detached from actual planting and harvesting costs, centralized harvesting, etc.
Keywords: future market direction
The prices of some varieties have started to decrease
Will the prices of traditional Chinese medicine continue to rise? What is the future direction? Zhang Yuefeng, an analyst at the Kangmei Traditional Chinese Medicine Index, believes that the pullback of varieties that have risen and been hyped up in the past few years is proof of a price return on the road, such as Rehmannia glutinosa, Achyranthes bidentata, Plantago asiatica, Shegan, sour jujube kernels, etc. The price increase has stimulated production and shrunk demand, and prices have significantly decreased.
"At present, for the most concentrated bulk medicinal materials, after being invested by funds for six months, the price spillover value has been obvious, institutional costs have increased and been criticized, which has seriously affected the demand of citizens. After entering the off-season, it is obvious that there is a price but no market, but long-term varieties are difficult to restore a large amount of supply in a short period of time to stabilize prices. In addition, some small and medium-sized enterprises lack domestic varieties and miss wild collection varieties, which will still fluctuate and rise briefly from time to time. Zhang Yuefeng believes that in the future, new capital will start to hesitate due to the influence of public opinion, and the new entry force will weaken. The current market is entirely dependent on the power of holders. If the cost of funds is not high, it is also difficult for administrative regulation and intervention to persist in not lowering prices.". When new goods are produced, large enterprises and listed companies will also increase their supply chain guarantee tools, such as self-produced and self sold, or binding supply materials from upstream cooperation, to reduce the possibility of being surrounded by speculative funds.
Keywords: coping strategies
Suggest accelerating the construction of a strategic reserve library for traditional Chinese medicine
The rapid rise in prices of traditional Chinese medicine has also had many adverse effects, such as increasing the burden on medical insurance funds, leading to a significant decline in enterprise production capacity, and also laying hidden dangers for the decline in the quality of traditional Chinese medicine.
In response to the continuous abnormal fluctuations in the Chinese herbal medicine market, on July 8th, the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued an initiative to the Chinese herbal medicine industry: resolutely correct, and never participate in any form of unfair or even illegal activities that disrupt the order of the herbal medicine market, such as raising and manipulating herbal medicine prices, speculation, and speculation.
How to deal with price fluctuations of traditional Chinese medicine? After conducting in-depth research, the Bozhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoction Industry Promotion Association also put forward suggestions, such as accelerating the construction of a strategic reserve library for traditional Chinese medicine, establishing a reserve system for traditional Chinese medicine, timely collection and release, regulating market prices, to ensure the balanced supply of traditional Chinese medicine raw materials, and to suppress large fluctuations in market prices. Timely grasp the supply and demand situation of the Chinese herbal medicine market, and plan to reserve and allocate resources. At the same time, a directory of reserved Chinese medicinal materials and a list of designated reserve enterprises will be established, a special risk fund will be established, and relevant experts will be organized to evaluate the reserved varieties of Chinese medicinal materials and designated reserve enterprises, forming a "government enterprise" linkage model for Chinese medicinal material reserves. Through strategic reserves of traditional Chinese medicine, we aim to balance the supply and demand of the market and avoid excessive price fluctuations. At the same time, it is necessary to standardize the Chinese herbal medicine market, give full play to the government's leading role in resource allocation, strengthen supervision of the Chinese herbal medicine market, standardize intermediate links, strengthen inspection and certification of Chinese herbal medicine, prohibit non licensed enterprises or individuals from hoarding goods without authorization, enhance the transparency and fairness of Chinese herbal medicine circulation, control intermediate links from the source, and suppress the rise of Chinese herbal medicine prices.
Da Wan News Reporter Ye Xiao Intern Pan Yixin Cao Jiang Rui
