Exports of plant extracts climb a new peak of US$1 billion

Plant extracts (hereinafter referred to as "plant extracts") are the fastest-growing industry in the Chinese medicine export industry, and can also be said to be the "sunrise industry" forever. At the end of last year, the "Twelfth Five-Year Development Plan for the Food Industry" issued jointly by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology made it clear that "will encourage and support the development of natural pigments and plant extracts industries and continue to develop advantageous export products."

In 2011, the export volume of phytosanitary materials in China was US$1.13 billion, an increase of 47% year-on-year, becoming the first category of Chinese medicine exports exceeding US$1 billion; the export volume was 42,000 tons, an increase of 14.9% year-on-year; the average export price was 26.8 USD/kg, an increase of 28.2% year-on-year. After many years of development, the phytosanitary industry has exceeded US$1 billion for the first time, and thus reached a new height.

Import growth is obvious

According to the monthly statistics, from January to December 2011, the amount of import and export of China's phytosanitary materials in one month did not change much and remained relatively stable. However, judging from the year-on-year comparison of the amount and amount of imports, the amount of imports increased significantly year-on-year, while the export growth rate was relatively flat.

In 2011, the import volume of phytosanitary materials was US$220 million, an increase of 67.8% year-on-year; the import volume was 18,000 tons, an increase of 59.4% year-on-year; the average import price was US$12.4/kg, an increase of 5.2% year-on-year. The imported products are mainly plant essential oils such as peppermint oil and licorice extracts and other resource-limited plant extracts, and the import growth rate exceeds 100%.

Large increase in purchases from export destinations

In 2011, except for the slight tightening of Latin America, the export market of phytosanitary products showed a large increase in exports and exports from other continents. Asia, Europe, and North America are still the main areas for the export of phytosanitary products in China. In 2011, exports to these three regions accounted for 82.6% of total phytosanitary exports in China.

★ China's export of phytoextracts from Asia to the Asian region was 440 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 39.4% of the total, and the export value increased by 18.8% year-on-year. Among them, Japan and the ASEAN region are the major export markets in Asia.

In 2011, Japan was the second largest export market for phytosanitary products in China, and its export value was 170 million U.S. dollars. Japan is one of the most important export markets for phytoextracts in China. Products are mainly used in traditional Kampo medicine and health care products. In recent years, demand has been growing steadily.

The ASEAN market is flat. In 2011, China’s exports to ASEAN amounted to US$107 million, a year-on-year decrease of 6.71%. The country with the most significant decline is Malaysia, with 66.5%. The main reason for the decline was that the decline in exports of celebrity products stevia extracts lowered the overall exports to Malaysia, and the exports of the two largest exporters of stevia extracts to Malaysia showed a decrease of nearly 100%. However, there are also some bright spots in the ASEAN region. Singapore and Indonesia are relatively representative countries. In 2011, the export volume of phytosanitary products to the two countries was 43.94 million U.S. dollars and 28.06 million U.S. dollars, respectively, an increase of 39% and 62% year-on-year. The products are concentrated in peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil and other plant flavor spices.

★ The European market in Europe was strong in 2011. From January to December, China's export of phytoextracts to the EU was 290 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 63.2% year-on-year; export volume was 11,000 tons, an increase of 15.1% year-on-year; and the average export price was 41.8% year-on-year. The main exporting countries are Spain, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Among them, Spain and Germany ranked fourth and fifth in the phytosanitary export market in 2011 respectively. China's exports to Spain are mainly pigments that are widely used in the food sector, while exports to Germany are mostly used in the field of health products, and the export growth of these two countries is 76% and 57% respectively.

★ The North American market (or U.S. market) in the United States is the most important export market for phytoextracts in China. It has been ranked first in the export of phytosanitary products for many years.

In 2011, China’s phytoextracts exported US$180 million to the United States, an increase of 54% year-on-year; exports were 8,050 tons, an increase of 32% year-on-year. The largest phytosanitary products exported to the United States are licorice extracts, including licorice extracts and glycyrrhizic acid salts and other licorice products. In 2011, the export volume of licorice extract reached US$16.64 million, an increase of 36.7% year-on-year. In addition, phytosanitary products for health purposes are still the main products of the U.S. market. Taking dietary supplements has been the habit of most Americans, and this has also given rise to an increase in demand for phytosanitary products in this world's largest dietary supplement market. The U.S. market has become the vane of global phytosanitary products for pharmaceuticals and health care. The increase or decrease in demand will directly affect changes in other global markets.

Industrial clusters have obvious advantages

In 2011, there were 1,402 phytosanitary export enterprises in China, a slight increase from 1365 last year. Among them, private enterprises are the main force of exports, accounting for more than 56%; foreign-funded enterprises account for 32% of exports; state-owned enterprises only account for 11% of total exports. In 2011, exports of phytosanitary products accounted for 33% of the total exports, a slight decrease from the top ten (35%) last year. The top 10 thresholds rose from US$16.14 million to US$22.19 million. The overall level of the industry has slightly improved.

From the perspective of the export situation of various provinces and cities, the export of phytosanitary products has obvious characteristics of industrial clusters. The top five provinces and cities for export are Shandong, Yunnan, Shanghai, Hebei and Zhejiang. The top provinces and cities have the advantages of industrial clusters and advantages of location foreign trade. For example, due to the special plant resources and climatic conditions, Yunnan has obvious advantages in planting and processing of plant pigments and flavors and fragrances. Shandong has advantages in resources such as stevia extracts and flavors, plus the advantages of port trade. Enterprises are ranked in the forefront of exports. In the same way, Hebei has also formed a pigment industrial cluster represented by Chenguang Biological, which has the advantage of cluster development. It can be seen from this that the phytosanitary industry in China has gradually formed the trend of industrial clusters led by large enterprises, and the industry has become increasingly healthy.

Additives can be hot

In 2011, the export volume and export volume of most varieties of phytosanitary products in China showed steady growth. Several phytosanitary exports with separate customs codes showed different degrees of growth, such as: eucalyptus oil (export volume was US$110 million, a year-on-year increase of 26%), glycyrrhizic acid salts (US$33.14 million, 17.5%), Rutin and its derivatives (29.6 million US dollars, 87.5%), liquorice juice and extract (25.33 million US dollars, 28.3%) and so on.

According to the purpose of use, the phytosanitary products can be divided into categories such as medicinal and health care products, food additives, flavors and fragrances and cosmetics. Among them, food additive extracts have been growing in recent years. The main reason is that in recent years, the global demand for natural-source pigment products is gradually heating up, artificial synthetic pigments have gradually been replaced by natural pigments, such as pepper red pigment, leaves Flavin, curcumin, etc. have become the best-selling products in the global food additive field. As medicines and health care products as China's traditional superior products, demand has been stable in recent years, and growth is stable. In addition, the export of flavors and fragrances has gradually become a “dark horse” trend, and the enterprises whose exports are mainly based on such products have risen rapidly in recent years and deserve special attention.

Stevia extract is still the most noteworthy single variety in the industry. After rapid growth in recent years, stevia has developed into one of the most important plant extract products. Several large companies with the main industry of stevia extract have ranked in the forefront for many consecutive years. Another good news for the Stevia industry this fall is that the European Union approved Stevia glycosides as a new food sweetener ingredient, which means that the door to the EU market is already open. However, the good news still failed to change the situation of Stevia’s performance. A number of enterprises with Stevia extract as the main industry have experienced a sharp decline in their exports.

There are many reasons for the drop in overseas demand. For example, although the EU market allows the use of stevia extract as a food additive, regulations in the relevant fields have not been timely regulated, and the demand has not been stimulated in the short term. The world's largest stevia procurement and production company, Prosecco, has established stevia cultivation bases in Africa and South America, respectively, reducing the need for domestic extracts of stevia. Stevia beverages represented by Dr. Zhang's Zero Card Beverages have not yet effectively stimulated the domestic market potential for various reasons. In the absence of strong internal and external demand, the stevia industry really entered a downturn in 2011. However, we still believe that with the development of market potential and the growth of high-end product companies, the market for Stevia is still promising.

New adjustment started in 2012

At the beginning of the New Year, the biggest shock to the phytosanitary industry was the notice of the General Administration of Customs and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Liberation Army (AQSIQ) newly adjusting the "Census Catalogue. The regulatory requirements for phytosanitary substances in the new “Census Catalogue” are adjusted as follows: HS Code of the Customs is 1302199099 (other plant juices and extracts). The regulatory category of the Import and Export Inspection and Quarantine Bureau has been newly added to the original phytosanitary products. Inspection of export commodities (dangerous chemicals), food hygiene supervision and inspection (food additives).

The newly adjusted regulatory conditions will increase the cost of inspections and the time for inspections. In addition, as a phytosanitary product exporter, if food products are added for customs declaration, it is necessary to conduct food hygiene supervision and inspection and obtain a food production license (QS certificate). However, due to the lack of national standards for most plant extract products, the company cannot Apply for a QS certificate. Therefore, the new regulations will undoubtedly directly affect the export of phytosanitary products. It can be predicted that the phytosanitary industry will usher in a new period of adjustment, and the competent authorities may use the adjustment period to increase the industry's access threshold and strengthen quality supervision. A new round of industry reshuffle may take place.