Ministry of Commerce monitoring shows ginseng prices keep rising while notoginseng keeps falling
Some are happy, some are worried. Of the 29 medicinal materials included in the statistical scope in 2013, 9 saw year-on-year price increases and 11 saw year-on-year price declines. Among them, the price of ginseng soared 80% year on year, while notoginseng fell by more than 30%. The above information comes from the latest release by the Ministry of Commerce, the "2013 Circulation Analysis Report on Key Varieties of Chinese Medicinal Materials" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report").
Data show that in 2013, the national Chinese medicinal materials market sold about 16,000 tons of ginseng, with market inventory of about 1,456.1 tons, and an average market price of 671.1 yuan/kg, up 87.5% year on year, continuing to maintain an upward trend. The price of notoginseng, by contrast, showed a dismal trend: the national Chinese medicinal materials market sold about 12,000 tons, with market inventory of about 1,787.5 tons, among which the average market price of 120-head notoginseng was 439.2 yuan/kg, down 33.8% year on year.
The "Report" believes that the relatively large increase in ginseng prices is because it has been listed as a new resource food, market demand has increased considerably, and the ginseng cultivation cycle is 6 years, making it difficult to achieve increased planting and expanded production in the short term. In addition, the government has become stricter in approving forest land for ginseng cultivation, which to a certain extent has limited ginseng output.
Unlike the development of the ginseng industry, notoginseng cultivation bases do not need to undergo strict government approval, making it relatively easy for medicinal farmers to expand planting, and the notoginseng cultivation cycle is 3 years, making expansion relatively easy. The price of notoginseng rose for 3 consecutive years, stimulating the planting enthusiasm of medicinal farmers. The main producing area of Wenshan Prefecture expanded planting area one after another, and the rapidly expanding planting area caused output to clearly exceed demand. A market downturn cycle has already arrived.
In addition, the "Report" points out that the situation of heterophylla pseudostellaria is similar to that of notoginseng. Its current price has already fallen to 20% of that in 2011, but it still has not hit bottom, and the price is expected to continue falling in the future. The average price of milk thistle was 12.5 yuan/kg, down 34% from the previous year. However, the report believes that, affected by strong demand at home and abroad in recent years, especially the relatively rapid growth in foreign market demand for milk thistle extract, milk thistle prices are expected to show a relatively large increase in the future.
It is understood that the relevant circulation information for the 29 kinds of Chinese medicinal materials included in this circulation analysis system for key varieties of Chinese medicinal materials comes from the commerce departments of 85 Chinese medicinal materials production areas, 17 Chinese medicinal materials markets and 6 professional Chinese medicinal materials websites. This Chinese medicinal materials circulation data information was established by the Ministry of Commerce in 2012, and it has continuously released annual circulation analysis reports on key varieties of Chinese medicinal materials.
The "Report" believes that at present the circulation of Chinese medicinal materials in China is still overall in the form of backward farmers' market trading, with a low degree of organization and scale, and is one of the least modernized industries in China's circulation field. The backward conditions in circulation links such as primary processing at production areas, packaging, warehousing and maintenance, and logistics are especially prominent, and have already affected the development of the Chinese medicine industry and the cause of traditional Chinese medicine. Developing modern logistics for Chinese medicinal materials, carrying out the construction of a traceability system for Chinese medicinal materials circulation, and improving the quality of Chinese medicinal materials are inevitable requirements and future trends for promoting the healthy and sustainable development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry. The docking model between production areas and pharmaceutical enterprises to ensure product supply has become a new trend in the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry.