Why Are Chinese Medicine Exports Still So Crude and Simple?

In January-June 2015, China's exports of Chinese medicinal materials and prepared slices of Chinese medicine totaled 550 million USD, down 7.5% year on year. Export volume was 94,000 tons, up 3.27% year on year, and the average export price was 5.8 USD/kg, down 10.4% year on year. The decline in export prices was the main reason for the slowdown in the growth of Chinese medicinal materials and prepared slices. The main export varieties of Chinese medicinal materials and prepared slices were bulk varieties such as goji berries, ginseng and codonopsis. However, the export situation for these varieties was basically not optimistic, with either volume rising and price falling, or both volume and price falling. Among the top ten export varieties, 8 saw a decline in export value, and all the declines were relatively large.

For a long time, East Asia and ASEAN countries have been the main export markets for China's traditional Chinese medicinal materials and prepared slices, accounting for 82.64% of China's total exports of Chinese medicinal materials and prepared slices, down 2.66% from 85.3% in 2013.

Hong Kong, China: In the first half of 2015, the mainland's exports of Chinese medicinal materials and prepared slices to Hong Kong, China totaled 185 million USD, down 18.14% year on year, and their share of export value also declined compared with the same period last year, while Hong Kong, China's re-export trade advantage weakened somewhat. At present, the Chinese medicinal materials exported from the mainland to Hong Kong, China are mainly notoginseng, codonopsis, eucommia bark, atractylodes, chrysanthemum, chuanxiong, white peony root, ginseng and rehmannia. Hong Kong, China has long been the main import market for the mainland's cordyceps sinensis. In previous years, as the price of cordyceps sinensis continued to rise, export volume began to decline year by year. Although the cordyceps sinensis market fell more sharply this year than in previous years, export value is still declining because of the poor overall economic situation.

Japan: In the first half of 2015, China's exports of Chinese medicinal materials and prepared slices to Japan totaled 92.1847 million USD, down 27.20% year on year. In addition to some force majeure factors, the decline in export value in the Japanese market was also related to Japan's continuously rising quality requirements for raw Chinese medicinal materials. In recent years, domestic resources of high-quality wild medicinal materials have been increasingly declining, and some Japanese companies, in order to ensure a stable supply of goods, have already trial-planted some Chinese medicinal materials in Vietnam and South America and other regions. At present, the medicinal materials and prepared slices China exports to Japan are mainly wild licorice, high-quality pinellia, poria, notoginseng, white peony root and ginseng.

In addition, markets such as Taiwan, China, Malaysia, the United States and the Netherlands still maintained growth of more than 20%. The growth in Taiwan, China is especially noteworthy. From January to June, 5,869 tons of Chinese medicinal materials were exported to Taiwan, China, up 78.3% year on year, with export value of 31.05 million USD, up 34.5% year on year. As trade facilitation measures for Chinese medicinal materials across the strait are implemented one after another, the trade volume of Chinese medicinal materials between the mainland and Taiwan, China will increase rapidly.

In the first half of 2015, the export volume of Chinese medicinal materials increased somewhat, but it was basically raw medicine and roughly processed products. During this year's National Day holiday, after last year's buying spree of toilet seats, Chinese people once again bought large quantities of everyday medicines, and many popular cosmetics also contained Chinese herbal ingredients. This shows that the development of China's Chinese medicine products and the building of trust still have a long way to go.