In autumn and winter, a variety of respiratory diseases are "menacing", and many people "star" at Chuanbei, which has the effect of dissolving phlegm, relieving cough and asthma.
However, due to the fact that in recent years, domestic Chinese herbal medicines have entered an upward cycle, and today's Chuanbei has also surprised many people. "I want to buy some Chuanbei and put it at home to steam Sydney pears, but it costs 10 yuan a gram, is it so expensive now?”
Why are Chinese medicinal materials such as Chuanbei so powerful?
Chinese herbal medicines** doubled,
Doctors said they didn't dare to prescribe it to patients
Now the market price of Chuanbei (Songtong) is 5,600 yuan kilogram, and the furnace shellfish will be cheaper, and it will be 4,700 yuan per kilogram. "Bozhou, Anhui Province is famous for its abundance of Chinese herbal medicines, recently, Ms. Yang, a Chinese herbal medicine wholesaler in Bozhou, told reporters.
The reporter searched in the Chinese herbal medicine world network and found that in the past few years, the ** of Chuanbei (Songtong) was maintained at more than 3,000 yuan per kilogram, and this year's ** not only rose to more than 4,000 yuan, but also more than 5,000 yuan in some months. Taking Bozhou Pharmaceutical Market as an example, in August, Chuanbei (Songtong)** was once as high as 5,200 yuan, and now although it has fallen, it has also remained at 5,000 yuan.
On the Bozhou Pharmaceutical Market, Songtong (Sichuan) Chuanbei ** map. Screenshot from Chinese herbal medicine world network.
Compared with Chuanbei, which has been at a high level, Ms. Yang said, "Zhejiang Bei has risen more obviously, and now it is 180 yuan per kilogram, which is dozens of yuan higher than last year." "Not only Zhebei, but also in the Bozhou Chinese herbal medicine market, among the more than 1,000 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines, hundreds of varieties have appeared. Ms Yang added.
According to the report released by the relevant industry associations in June, in Bozhou, Anhui, Anguo, Hebei, Chengdu, Sichuan, Yulin and other major Chinese herbal medicine wholesale trading markets, compared with the same period last year, there are more than 200 conventional varieties increased by more than 50%, 25 commonly used bulk medicinal materials increased by more than 200%, and individual varieties even increased by 4 to 9 times.
This wave of Chinese herbal medicine price increases, a doctor in a traditional Chinese medicine hospital in Beijing has a deep experience. "The price of Chinese medicinal materials such as sour jujube kernel and astragalus has risen sharply, and sour jujube kernels with insomnia and anxiety are not daring to prescribe to patients. For this flavor medicine, only 1 payment (30 grams) is prescribed, which costs 31 yuan, and 7 payments cost more than 200 yuan. If the patient uses a large amount, it is more expensive. ”
Cat's claw is also one of the top varieties of Chinese herbal medicine. At the end of October, Xiao Jin (pseudonym) went to the local pharmacy to grab medicine out of the need for **lung nodules, and was "stabbed" by the ** of cat's claw.
Doctors say that the pharmacy of cat's claw 085 yuan a gram, which means that in less than a month, a gram of cat's claw grass has risen by 035 yuan. Xiao Jin said, "The last 21 medicines, without cat's claw, cost about 400 yuan, this time if you add cat's claw, it may be nearly 1,000 yuan." ”
Judging from the monitoring data of the Chinese herbal medicine world, in the past few months, cat's claw grass has risen particularly rapidly. In the Anguo pharmaceutical market, the first quarter of the kilogram was still 85 yuan to 90 yuan, and in October, the kilogram has risen to 420 yuan. Since the second half of 2022, the sour jujube kernels mentioned by the above-mentioned doctors have soared, and now they are maintained at 100 yuan per kilogram.
Why is the price increase of Chinese herbal medicines so "fierce"?
Since the beginning of this year, common Chinese medicinal materials such as angelica, codonopsis, bupleurum, licorice, atractylodes, cat's claw, etc., have increased significantly, causing widespread concern.
Previously, the Chinese herbal medicine sour jujube kernel rose to 1,000 yuan per kilogram, and it was ridiculed, "It was originally a cure for insomnia, but I couldn't sleep even more after reading it." "Recently, when a medicinal herb grower in Fengtang Township, Zhoukou, Henan Province harvested Atractylodes, he was robbed by more than 100 people, and the party also mentioned that the purchase of Atractylodes atractylodes this year was higher.
Why is this wave of Chinese herbal medicines so "fierce"?In Ms. Yang's view, there are factors such as the reduction of the production of some Chinese herbal medicines, the need for daily health care, and human operation.
Taking Angelica sinensis as an example, in 2022, due to the reduction of Angelica sinensis and the weather, the yield of Angelica sinensis will be greatly reduced. The market is in short supply, resulting in the continuous rise of angelica this year.
**Cyclical cycles and the recovery of downstream consumer demand are also important factors.
The Bozhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoction Industry Promotion Association previously mentioned that during the peak sales period under the influence of the law of the cycle, the purchase and sales are often active, and the shortage of supply has caused the first rise in medicinal materials, and individual varieties have skyrocketed. The general situation of this round of Chinese herbal medicine market is at a cyclical high. In recent years, the recognition and application scope of traditional Chinese medicine at home and abroad have been expanding, which has also led to a continuous increase in the demand for Chinese herbal medicines. ”
Data map: Bupleurum blossoms. Photo by Zeng Linggang.
Under the increase in market demand, it is subject to factors such as the difficulty of planting some Chinese herbal medicines, the shortage of the first chain, and the improvement of the quality standards of medicinal materials, which leads to the shortage of Chinese herbal medicines and the rise in costs, which in turn pushes up the Chinese herbal medicines.
In addition, whether it is the wholesaler of medicinal materials interviewed by the reporter recently, or the report previously released by relevant associations in various places, it points to one factor:Capital poured into the speculation.
The lack of investment channels for capital has prompted a large amount of capital inside and outside the industry to flow into the speculation of agricultural products, especially in the field of Chinese herbal medicines, which has artificially caused the monopoly of goods to skyrocket. Jia Haibin, chief analyst of Zhongkang Science and Technology Traditional Chinese Medicine Big Data Center, said that some financial and investment institutions have also taken advantage of the situation to carry out first-chain finance, warehouse receipt pledge, and even "leverage" to facilitate hoarding speculation.
Yuzhou City, Henan Province is one of the four major pharmaceutical capitals in China. Jia Shaowei, president of the Yuzhou Pharmaceutical Chamber of Commerce, also revealed in an interview that the medicinal materials affected by speculation funds have a common feature - the concentration of origin. He used cat's claw grass as an example to explain, cat's claw grass is mainly produced in the Huaibin area of Henan Province, and the yield in other places is very small. After speculating funds to purchase and stock up from the place of origin, it can greatly affect the pricing of Chinese herbal medicines.
To this end, the proposal issued by the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine in July made it clear that it resolutely opposes and will never participate in any form of improper or even illegal acts that disrupt the order of the medicinal materials market, such as coaxing and manipulating medicinal materials, speculation and speculation.
After the crazy rise,
Can the Chinese herbal medicine market usher in a "cooling down"?
Common Chinese herbal medicines*** will push up the cost of raw materials for high-end medicines. However, it is difficult to adjust the bidding and procurement of drugs in medical institutions and terminals in the short term, resulting in pharmaceutical companies being "squeezed at both ends" in raw material procurement, production and sales.
The reporter noticed that a number of pharmaceutical companies said on the investor interactive platform that Chinese herbal medicines continue to be continuous, which has a certain pressure on the company's production costs. Kangmei Pharmaceutical also mentioned that due to multiple factors such as the continuous production of domestic Chinese herbal medicine raw materials and the reduction of production in the production area, the gross profit of the company's traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces sales decreased year-on-year under the condition that the procurement of medical institutions remained unchanged.
In the face of the cost pressure brought by raw materials, pharmaceutical companies have also taken measures such as economic bulk purchases, increasing strategic procurement reserves, and establishing medicinal material planting bases.
Data map: American ginseng grows in a "heat insulation shed". Photo by Cang Yan.
However, as the Bozhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoction Industry Promotion Association said, the high level of raw materials will not only cause the production capacity of production enterprises to decline, but also lay hidden dangers for the decline in the quality of traditional Chinese medicine. With the gradual production of new Chinese herbal medicines, the ratio of market supply and demand is seriously out of balance, and the ** index of Chinese herbal medicines is facing a sharp decline at any time, which eventually leads to a serious impact on the whole industrial chain of Chinese medicine.
The Kangmei China Chinese Materia Medica** (Daily) Index shows that after rising to a high point in August 2023, the index** has declined, and as of December 3, the index has been about 68%。
With the increase in the number of falling varieties in recent months, some analysts said"This is also a reminder to the industry, even if the market rises, the risk still exists, once the overcapacity, and the demand has not been greatly boosted, the market will eventually return to normal**.
In Jia Haibin's view, as the country attaches great importance to the problem of the soaring price of Chinese herbal medicines, the "out of control" trend of Chinese herbal medicines is expected to be curbed in the short term. However, if the imbalance of the industrial chain structure is not solved, in the medium and long term, Chinese herbal medicines will still fluctuate sharply.
In order to cope with this dilemma, Jia Haibin believes that it is necessary to establish a unified national big data center for the traditional Chinese medicine industry as soon as possible to further play the role of market regulation. At the same time, the establishment of quality standards for different demand dimensions, the demand side to accelerate the docking with production and marketing, and supporting services also need to be quickly implemented.
From the perspective of the initiatives of relevant industry associations,Accelerating the construction of a strategic reserve of Chinese herbal medicines, creating a platform for the release of traditional Chinese medicine indexes, encouraging enterprises to establish planting bases for traditional Chinese medicines, extending the industrial chain of traditional Chinese medicines, and strengthening the supervision of the Chinese herbal medicine market have also become the way to "break the situation".
*: China News Network.