CCTV Exposes Price Hikes in Over 30 Types of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials
A surge in prices for traditional Chinese medicinal materials has arrived, with some already climbing to 200,000 yuan per jin.
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Prices of Chinese medicinal materials rise
Recently, CCTV Finance reported that prices for many traditional Chinese medicinal materials have risen, with more than 30 varieties seeing price increases.
On the program, Ms. Zhang, who has been in the traditional Chinese medicinal herb business for many years, said that since the beginning of September, 30% of the herbs she sells have seen price increases to varying degrees: “Chuanxiong has gone up by 2 yuan—previously it sold for 20 yuan, but now it’s 22 yuan.”
In addition, raw materials for cold remedies—such as Isatis root, Forsythia fruit, and coix seed, which tonifies the spleen and nourishes the lungs—are also seeing price increases; these are generally among the most frequently used ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions.
Prices have also risen rapidly for many medicinal–food homologous varieties—traditional Chinese medicinal materials that can be used both as medicine and as food—with increases ranging from 10% to 30% for seeds such as cassia seeds, lilies, cardamom, and safflower. Among these, the most pronounced price hikes have been observed in certain animal-derived medicinal materials, with minimum increases of around 50% and some even more than doubling.
According to reports, a vendor at the Anguo Traditional Chinese Medicine Material Market in Hebei Province stated: “Last year, a kilogram of Baihua snake cost about 50 yuan—genuine product—but this year it’s over 100 yuan. As for Wuzhao snake, it was around 400 yuan per kilogram last year, but now it’s 1,000 to 1,200 yuan.”
As one of the few vendors in the market who deal in natural bezoar, Xu Dongya told the program team that recently, the price of natural bezoar has been steadily climbing, and supplies are extremely tight. It took her several months to receive just a tiny handful of bezoar—weighing only 0.5 kilograms—but the price already topped 200,000 yuan. Four years ago, the same amount would have cost only about 50,000 yuan; in just four years, the price has nearly quintupled, and it continues to rise. She admitted: “According to the prices set by pharmaceutical manufacturers, this year’s price is 40,000 to 50,000 yuan higher per kilogram than last year.”
Enterprise
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It is necessary to raise the prices of finished pharmaceutical products.
Following an investigation, the program team found that price increases for certain traditional Chinese medicinal materials are primarily driven by supply shortages. For instance, the yields of Arctium lappa seeds, Ligusticum chuanxiong, and Forsythia suspensa have all declined to varying degrees this year in their places of origin. As for those medicinal ingredients that are also considered food, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly boosted demand compared with previous years, thereby pushing prices higher.
Meanwhile, due to epidemic prevention and control requirements, the state has imposed strict controls on customs clearance and inspection procedures for animal-derived traditional Chinese medicinal materials, resulting in a sharp decline in import volumes. In addition, following the pandemic, the government has introduced regulations to strengthen oversight of these materials, imposing more stringent management across the entire supply chain—from breeding and production to disease prevention and control.
Rising prices of traditional Chinese medicinal materials will directly impact downstream pharmaceutical companies, leading to higher prices for processed herbal slices and finished TCM preparations.
Xie Shuqiang, head of a traditional Chinese medicine decoction-piece manufacturer in Hebei Province, stated that their products are primarily sold to hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers. However, these manufacturers’ procurement contracts are typically signed for one-year terms, meaning that even if raw-material prices rise, the companies are unable to adjust their product prices. Over the past few years, the volatile market for medicinal herbs has also compelled them to develop strategies for managing price fluctuations.
He went on to explain that companies forecast market trends—such as this year’s production levels and inventory positions—and conduct a comprehensive analysis to determine whether prices will rise or fall. Based on these findings, they then enter into contracts with customers. Some firms even proactively stockpile goods in advance to reduce production costs.
If companies are unable to build up inventory, they have no choice but to accept the reality of rising costs. Li Long, head of a pharmaceutical company in Hebei Province, notes that among the dozens of proprietary Chinese medicines the company produces, many rely heavily on rare and valuable medicinal materials such as bezoar, musk, and bear bile—and a substantial proportion of these ingredients have seen price increases, with some doubling year on year.
He admitted, “We have 27 product varieties that will inevitably face future price increases. Take safflower as an example—its price has already risen by 30%, directly impacting our cost structure, so we’ll need to make some minor adjustments going forward.”
According to reports, several pharmaceutical companies in Beijing, Sichuan, and other regions have stated that if the prices of traditional Chinese medicinal materials continue to rise, they will be forced to raise the retail prices of their finished products as well.
Traditional Chinese medicine
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There is still room for further increases.
In fact, traditional Chinese medicine still has considerable room for price increases.
Recently, the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia was officially published and distributed, featuring numerous new revisions compared with the previous edition. Among the key priorities in this revision is undoubtedly the enhancement of the quality and standards of traditional Chinese medicines.
According to available information, the primary objectives and tasks of the recent adjustments to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) regulatory framework are to refine and strengthen the TCM standards system. For instance, a key focus is on establishing maximum permissible limits for pesticide residues, heavy metals, and other harmful elements in crude TCM materials and processed TCM decoction pieces. This has, to some extent, led to higher prices: as standards have been raised, additional testing procedures have been introduced, driving up overall costs and ultimately impacting drug pricing.
An expert once told Cybrary that the release of the new edition of the Pharmacopoeia has raised quality requirements for Chinese medicinal materials, making it impossible for downstream manufacturers to pass off substandard products as high-quality by using raw materials with inadequate active ingredient content or excessive pesticide residues. However, high-quality medicinal materials remain in short supply on the market, driving up demand and creating a supply-demand imbalance; consequently, those varieties that meet stringent quality and standard requirements still have room to increase in price.
In addition, rising labor costs and packaging material prices have increased the production costs of proprietary Chinese medicines. Compared with 2016 price levels, carton prices have risen by 55%, while paper box prices have increased by 20%. Higher labor costs and packaging expenses represent a significant cost burden for pharmaceutical companies.
Moreover, the official implementation of the Drug Administration Law has imposed higher requirements on relevant enterprises. According to available information, if any one of the quality attributes of processed herbal slices—such as slice thickness, pesticide residues, heavy metals, ash content, extractives, and active ingredient content—fails to meet the standards set forth in the Pharmacopoeia, then, under the interpretation of the new Drug Administration Law, such products shall be classified as “substandard drugs” or “herbal slices that do not comply with drug standards.”
This has led enterprises to place greater emphasis on controlling the sourcing of active pharmaceutical ingredients: rather than procuring raw materials from industry markets or local traders in specific regions, they are now establishing GAP-compliant medicinal herb cultivation bases at production sites. Such measures aim to enhance the quality and consistency of their products, but they also inadvertently increase the production costs of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces.
To a certain extent, despite the overall rise in costs, there is still considerable room for Chinese medicinal products to increase in price.
