Low-priced dyed lentils are passed off as more than 800 yuan a kilogram of sour jujube kernels, and ineffective medicinal residues are packaged as genuine medicinal materials for sale through drying or secondary processing...... Not long ago, some media exposed that in the Chinese herbal medicine market, some buyers were shoddy or even adulterated.
A reporter from China City Daily learned that the Chinese herbal medicine market had previously experienced a storm of "soaring" prices, and considerable profits had triggered market chaos and had a great impact on the entire industry.
What is the current situation of the market price of Chinese herbal medicines, what are the effective practices in regulating the development of Chinese herbal medicines in various localities, and how to make imported Chinese patent medicines feel at ease? A reporter from China City Daily conducted an investigation and interview.
Status: The tide of price increases has receded
In September last year, a reporter from China City Daily found that the wild sour jujubes that no one cared about in the past suddenly became the "golden beans" that villagers were vying to pick.
The reason why it is called "golden beans" is because the price of harvested dates has reached a record high, more than double that of previous years. Some couples can earn more than 1,000 yuan a day of picking dates.
The reporter learned that the price of some Chinese herbal medicines has generally risen and even "soared", and the sour jujube kernel has the effect of calming the nerves and helping sleep, and can be used as a Chinese herbal medicine. The price of end products has risen, which has naturally driven the price of raw materials to rise.
According to the news released by the Chinese herbal medicine industry information portal, in August last year, the Chinese herbal medicine composite 200 index, which aims to reflect the overall price situation and change range of the mainland Chinese herbal medicine market, reached a high of 3604, and this value also created a new high since 2007.
The continuous rise in prices has increased the cost of medication for patients, and some people have taken the opportunity to hoard Juqi, affecting the healthy development of the entire industry. In this context, the call for stabilizing the price of Chinese herbal medicines is getting louder and louder.
In order to standardize the development of the industry, Shandong, Shanxi, Guangdong, Yunnan and other places have strengthened the circulation and supervision of Chinese herbal medicines. In Bozhou City, Anhui Province, for example, the city's market supervision department conducted an investigation and visit to the cold storage mainly for the storage of Chinese herbal medicines, and imposed a maximum fine on price hikes.
Recently, a reporter from China City Daily visited a number of pharmacies in Beijing again and found that the price of pure sour jujube kernels was 3 yuan/gram, which was basically the same as in September last year.
According to the information of the Chinese herbal medicine world, as of April 1, the prices of sour jujube kernels from Shandong were 820 yuan/kg, 760 yuan/kg, 780 yuan/kg, and 700 yuan/kg respectively in Anguo Pharmaceutical City, Hehuachi Pharmaceutical Market, Yulin Pharmaceutical Market, and Bozhou Pharmaceutical Market, which are distributed in Chinese herbal medicines. Except for the Bozhou drug market, which fell by 6.67% in the month, the rest of the drug market fell in the month and there was no change. The annual declines were 4.65%, 12.64%, 13.33%, and 19.54% respectively.
In an interview with a reporter from China City Daily, the relevant person in charge of a large listed Chinese medicine company said that with the improvement of people's recognition of traditional Chinese medicine and the enhancement of health awareness, the demand for Chinese herbal medicines has gradually increased. This has led to a tight market supply of some Chinese herbal medicines, which has pushed prices up. At the same time, taking jujube kernel as an example, the growth environment and origin of this type of Chinese herbal medicine are quite different, and there may be great differences in prices in different regions. In addition, due to factors such as the growth cycle and picking season of Chinese herbal medicines, the price of Chinese herbal medicines such as jujube kernels may also fluctuate due to seasonal changes.
It is worth noting that the prices of some Chinese herbal medicines have fallen sharply. A wheat winter grower in a township in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, told a reporter from China City Daily that the purchase price of wheat winter this year is on a downward trend, but his planting area has increased, from the original 10 acres to 20 acres this year. "This year, the dry wheat winter is 66 yuan/kg, and the wet wheat winter is 16 yuan/kg, and the price is lower than last year. Last year, dry wheat winter was 100 yuan/kg, and wet wheat winter was 26-28 yuan/kg. The grower said.
The decline in the price of the acquisition side extends to the circulation side. As of April 1, the price of wheat Dong Tong goods from Hubei Province was 100 yuan/kg, up 5.26% monthly, down 9.09% year-on-year, the price of Yulin Pharmaceutical Market was 110 yuan/kg, down 8.33% monthly, down 15.38% year-on-year, and the price of Bozhou Pharmaceutical Market was 90 yuan/kg, down 38.46% month-on-month and down 21.74% year-on-year.
According to the "2024 Chinese Herbal Medicine Market Price Monitoring Data Report (March)" released by relevant media, the prices of 1,445 specifications on March 31, 2024 were compared with March 31, 2023, with 262 price increases, accounting for 18.1% of the total, 230 price reduction specifications, accounting for 15.9% of the total, and 953 price specifications, accounting for about 66% of the total number of products in this period. It can be seen that the overall trend of the Chinese herbal medicine market is flat.
Hidden concerns: The chaos behind the price stabilization still exists
Although the overall price trend of the Chinese herbal medicine market has gradually stabilized and the market activity has remained at a certain level, there are still many hidden concerns behind this.
Ms. Zhang, a citizen of Shanghai, bought jujube kernel paste to soak in water due to sleep disorders, but she still felt that the effect was not good after drinking a bottle. Mr. Li, a resident of Hubei Province, also had a similar experience, he told a reporter from China City Daily that he was prone to anxiety, and after being recommended by a friend, he bought sour jujube kernel oral liquid to calm his nerves. "I've had a few boxes, but it doesn't seem to be of much use. ”
"Most of the sour jujube kernels that are bought cheaply from informal channels are adulterated. Pure sour jujube kernels, the price is really not low. An industry insider told a reporter from China City Daily.
According to the "National Drug Sampling Inspection Annual Report (2023)" released on March 26, the State Food and Drug Administration sampled a total of 2,158 batches of 9 varieties of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces throughout the year, and 63 batches did not meet the requirements;
The easy adulteration and high profits make the number of unqualified jujube kernels remain high. According to reports, in October last year, Anhui Hongkun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. was fined by the Zhejiang Provincial Institute for Food and Drug Control and found that the "moisture" item did not meet the regulations because it fried jujube kernels; in November of the same year, Shenwei Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. was fined by the Anhui Provincial Drug Administration for producing substandard Chinese medicine decoction pieces and fried jujube kernels; and this year, Beijing Crane Trillium Pharmaceutical Development Co., Ltd. was fined by the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation for producing and selling substandard jujube kernels.
A reporter from China City Daily interviewed and learned that the authentic sour jujube kernel is oblate or oblate-oval, with a length and width of 5-9 mm and a thickness of about 3 mm. The color of jujube kernels is mainly purple-red and purple-brown, and the surface looks shiny and shiny. The seed coat of authentic jujube kernels is brittle and easy to break. After the seed coat is broken, the endosperm is white and has a very light taste. The counterfeit sour jujube kernels, mainly Yunnan spiny jujube kernels, are obviously small in size, and the thickness is usually less than 3 mm. The color of the surface is also distinctly different, mostly brownish-red, brownish-black or greenish-brown. Moreover, the seed coat of Yunnan jujube kernel is too hard, and the endosperm taste is slightly astringent.
It is worth noting that, in addition to sour jujube kernels, problems such as raw dried ginseng counterfeiting American ginseng, ligustrum harvesting leading to a decline in quality, and incomplete sediment cleaning in the production area of the bone skin are not uncommon, which seriously affects the healthy development of the Chinese herbal medicine market and damages the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Remediation: Traceability throughout the process to improve the effectiveness of supervision
It is understood that in the past, drug quality supervision mainly relied on enterprise self-inspection, random inspection by the Food and Drug Administration, and consumer reports. Since the production and circulation of Chinese herbal medicines involve multiple links, each link may have an impact on the quality of Chinese herbal medicines, and the production units of Chinese herbal medicines in mainland China are mostly farmers, and the quality management and risk control are weak, resulting in the repeated listing of some Chinese herbal medicines and the increase in unqualified batches in the sampling inspection of the Food and Drug Administration.
It is gratifying that in terms of standardizing the development of the industry, all localities have actively explored and continuously increased the inspection and supervision of the market.
Shanghai took the lead in launching the traceability of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces, and consumers can scan the QR code of the drug to know the product batch number, origin, manufacturer and other information at a glance. The information traceability of the whole process makes the patient feel more at ease when taking the medicine.
Coincidentally, the official website of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued an announcement stating that it will explore the establishment of a full-process traceability and quality supervision service platform for traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces, including 23 decoction piece enterprises, and realizing the traceability of more than 130 medicinal materials and 166 decoction pieces varieties. Compile and publish the relevant standards for the quality traceability of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces in Beijing according to the group standard, and carry out the promotion and use of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces traceability and related training for the production and circulation enterprises and medical institutions of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces in Beijing.
At the two sessions of the National People's Congress this year, Zhao Jianguo, deputy to the National People's Congress and director of the Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education of Shanxi Datong University, suggested that new technologies, new technologies and new standards for the identification of the authenticity of Chinese medicinal materials should be established;
On the corporate side, self-discipline is also being strengthened. In an interview with a reporter from China City Daily, a staff member of a pharmaceutical company said that in order to ensure the quality of drugs, the company has a quality inspection department, because there are many kinds of preparations, such as capsules, tablets, oral liquids, etc. Taking capsules as an example, there will be a chromium test report, which is a report on the capsule shell, followed by the process of canned drugs, packaging, packaging and delivery of capsules, etc., before which there are multiple internal spot checks. "In addition to the random inspection by the Food and Drug Administration, consumers can check the approval number and name on the official website of the relevant departments, which have the drugs and corresponding manufacturers that are allowed to be produced, so as to distinguish the authenticity of the drugs. The staff member said.
Zheng Xinyu, reporter of China City Daily, and Zeng Chen, trainee reporter