BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua Du Yanfei) - China has about 30,000 plant species, which is one of the countries with the richest plant resources and the most complete system in the world.
Plant extracts can be used as raw materials, involved in making food, traditional Chinese medicine, health food, daily chemical products, cosmetics, farming inputs.
Recently, at the 2024 China Health Products Raw Material Conference and International Sourcing Information Exchange organised by China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Pharmaceuticals and Health Products (CCCPH), the guests said that the future development of China's plant extract industry has a bright future, and that it is necessary to increase the innovative research and development, strengthen the quality control and further improve the quality of the products.
`Life sciences and big health industry as a strategic emerging industry, is becoming one of the main positions to form new quality productivity. Represented by traditional medicine and Chinese medicine, including natural agent medicine as the basic origin of the big health and nutritional health industry has shown unique efficacy and is favoured by the global public.` China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products (CCCCMHP) Party Secretary Meng Dongping said that after years of accumulation, China's plant extract industry continues to develop and grow, local enterprises in the development of international trade and division of labour in the status of the role of the more prominent, foreign trade and exports continued for ten years to maintain a relatively high rate of growth.
China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Pharmaceuticals and Health Products data show that in 2023, China's plant extract exports were 23.88 billion yuan, the global market share of more than 20%, ranking first in the world.
It is worth noting that, as the world's largest production and supply of raw materials for health products exporters, China's plant extracts quality control work is particularly critical.
`It is a big inevitable trend to further improve the quality of our products and manage the whole process of plant extracts.` Yu Zhibin, director of the Chinese Medicine Department of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products (CCCCMHP), said that the chamber and the China National Institute of Standardisation (CNIS) have jointly led the preparation of the Good Manufacturing Practice for Plant Extracts (GEP), which guides the high-quality development of enterprises in the plant extract industry. Currently, the specification is seeking comments from industry players, enterprises and others.
Meanwhile, Chinese medicine is the treasure of China's ancient science, medicine and food with a lot of products after research and development can be tapped as a global natural health products.
`In the past three decades, most of China's plant extract products follow the United States and Europe and the United States market, the future through the research and development of China's traditional medicine products, there will be a breakthrough.` Yu Zhibin said.
