Traditional Chinese medicine industry rides the Belt and Road to explore overseas markets
At present, many countries' pharmaceutical and drug-making raw materials come from China's traditional Chinese medicinal materials or traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces. These two kinds of materials alone can reach an annual export volume of 200,000 tons, with export value exceeding 1 billion USD. For specific details, below is the 2015 traditional Chinese medicine industry status analysis compiled by the editor.
The traditional Chinese medicine industry uses the “Belt and Road” to expand overseas markets for traditional Chinese medicinal materials
Traditional Chinese medicinal materials and traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces should be said to also have the longest export history. This export is roughly about 200,000 tons per year, exceeding 1 billion USD. Basically speaking, these bulk exported medicinal materials of ours are largely unavailable locally. With the development of the “Belt and Road”, it will drive and promote China's traditional Chinese medicine industry to further expand overseas markets.
The Belt and Road covers major regions for the development of traditional Chinese medicine, and these regions are still very welcoming of traditional Chinese medicinal materials. This is also a relatively long-term development plan. Traditional Chinese medicine must also develop in coordination, and then it will have a certain promoting effect on the export of medicinal materials. We are also making some arrangements. We hope more enterprises and more products will go global.
The “Belt and Road” is a concept and initiative for international cooperation and development. Relying on bilateral and multilateral mechanisms between China and relevant countries, it taps the potential of regional markets, promotes investment and consumption, and creates demand and employment.
In the production workshop of Anhui Guangyintang Traditional Chinese Medicine Co., Ltd., one of the top five traditional Chinese medicine decoction piece export enterprises nationwide, countless traditional Chinese medicine decoction piece production lines are running at full capacity. After procedures such as sorting and packing by staff, bags of beautifully packaged traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces will be sold far away to countries such as Southeast Asia.
The increase in export volume brings the most direct feedback: an increase in economic benefits. As a city with the pharmaceutical industry as its pillar industry, Bozhou, Anhui, has seen the construction and implementation of the “Belt and Road” bring new development opportunities to the traditional Chinese medicine industry of this famous medicine capital. Lu Wenguang, deputy director of the Bozhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, introduced that in the first half of this year alone, the total import and export volume of Bozhou's pharmaceutical industry reached 103 million USD, an increase of as much as 40%.
The “Belt and Road” is a great boon for the development of the traditional Chinese medicinal materials industry. But at present, China's traditional Chinese medicinal materials still face problems such as depletion of species resources, a decrease in practitioners, and malicious speculation and price gouging caused by unstable market supply and demand. At this time, when expanding exports, China's exported traditional Chinese medicinal materials are still mainly artificially cultivated varieties, and medicinal farmers can then make targeted adjustments.
According to the theories of traditional Chinese medicine, many of our plants can actually be used for medicinal purposes and are also very good traditional Chinese medicinal materials. We have not yet discovered them. If we discover them and use them as supplements, then they can certainly cure diseases and save people.