Are there any advanced predecessors who can talk about the situation of Chinese medicine in Europe and America?

Market Status and Potential of Traditional Chinese Medicine in America

[Date: 2009-0 1- 15] Source: Tang Hanzhong Medicine Network Author: Unknown [font: large, medium and small]

In the American market, Chinese medicine is basically included in the herbal medicine industry. So, what is the market situation of Chinese medicine in the United States? In this regard, a more direct and effective method is to count the number of Chinese medicines imported from the United States.

(1) Statistical Analysis of American Traditional Chinese Medicine Imported from China

China's export trade of traditional Chinese medicine to the United States existed before the founding of the People's Republic of China, but the export volume was very small at that time. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), the export trade of traditional Chinese medicine to the United States has gradually increased, and it has grown substantially since the 1980s, and the growth momentum has remained basically stable.

According to the statistical yearbook of the General Administration of Customs of China, during the seven years from 1986 to 1993, the value of Chinese medicine directly exported to the United States is shown in the following table:

The United States directly imported Chinese herbal medicines and proprietary Chinese medicines from China (1986— 1993) ① [Source: Statistical Yearbook of China General Administration of Customs: 1986— 1993].

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Total of Chinese herbal medicine and Chinese patent medicine

The quantity (ton) increased (%) compared with the previous year, and the total amount (million dollars) increased (%) compared with the previous year.

1986 657.7 442.8

1987 647.0 - 1.6 605.2 36.7

1988 720.8 1 1.4 777.9 28.5

1989 1070.9 48.6 955.3 22.8

1990 3593.4 235.5 1408.0 47.4

199 1 3735.0 3.9 1467.2 4.2

1992 4077.0 9.2 1 169.3 -20.3

1993 7375.0 80.9 2 135.4 82.6

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The data in the table are the data declared to the customs according to traditional Chinese medicine at the time of export and included in the customs statistics. If we consider the export that does not enter the scope of customs statistics, such as taking it out of the country and not declaring it according to Chinese medicine, then the actual export value of Chinese medicine should be greater than the value in the table. But customs statistics should reflect the basic value and growth rate of Chinese medicine exports to the United States.

As can be seen from the statistical data, the main Chinese medicines imported from China in the United States are medicinal materials, and the ratio of medicinal materials to finished medicines is about 7: 3; During these seven years, the import of traditional Chinese medicine increased rapidly, from 1986 to 653 tons, from 1993 to 7375 tons, which increased by more than 10 times in seven years, with an average annual growth rate of 4 1.2%.

In 1986, the total amount of Chinese medicine imported from the United States was 4.428 million dollars, and in 1993 it increased to 213.54 million dollars (including Chinese medicine160.03 million dollars), with an average annual growth rate of 25.2%, but it was much lower than the average annual growth rate of imported Chinese medicine. Especially in 1990, the number of Chinese herbal medicines imported by El increased by 2.4 times compared with the previous year, while the total amount increased by less than 0.5 times, which indicated that the prices of Chinese herbal medicines imported from China in the United States tended to decline.

In addition to importing Chinese medicine from Chinese mainland, the United States also imports Chinese medicine from Hongkong, Taiwan Province Province and even Japan and South Korea. Chinese medicines (especially Chinese herbal medicines) re-exported to the United States through Hong Kong are relatively large in both quantity and amount. As can be seen from the following table, in 1993 and 1994, the amount of Chinese medicine re-exported to the United States through Hong Kong accounts for 10.8% and 9.9% of the total re-export respectively. As shown in the following table:

Unit of value of traditional Chinese medicine re-exported to the United States through Hong Kong: US$ 10,000 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

1993 Chinese herbal medicine 1994 Chinese herbal medicine 1994 Chinese patent medicine

Quantity (ton) amount Quantity (ton) amount

4494.8 1676.2 4673.9 1808.7 94.3

(6.3) ( 10.8) (6.0) (9.9) (3.8)

According to a rough estimate, in 1994, the United States imported about 1 1 billion dollars, and imported about 40 million dollars of Chinese medicine from China (including Hong Kong re-export), accounting for about 4.5% of American herbal medicine imports and 3.3% of American herbal medicine market supply.

(2) Sales of traditional Chinese medicine in American market.

The main consumers of Chinese medicine in the United States are China people, especially immigrants from Taiwan Province Province, Hongkong and Guangdong, followed by Koreans, Japanese and Vietnamese. Now some Hispanics are also beginning to accept Chinese medicine.

Chinese medicine is mainly sold through professional channels in the United States, that is, Chinese medicine acupuncturists. The most common sales places are Chinese medicine shops and Chinese medicine shops affiliated to Chinese medicine acupuncture clinics. Followed by supermarkets, health food stores and grocery stores operated by Chinese in Chinese communities. Japanese, Koreans and Vietnamese also run Chinese medicine in a way similar to that of China, mainly serving their community peers. This meal, in a few mainstream supermarkets, health food stores, grocery stores, there are also a small number of well-known Chinese medicine supplements for sale, such as ginseng, royal jelly and so on.

There are about 10000 licensed acupuncturists in the United States, many of whom have different degrees of understanding of Chinese medicine and can prescribe Chinese medicine; Here, a considerable number of Chinese medicine practitioners do not have the license of acupuncturist. Although acupuncture is not legal, it can prescribe medicine for people-Chinese medicine is usually regarded as healthy food in the United States, and prescribing medicine is equivalent to food advice, which is not a medical act. These Chinese medicine acupuncturists dominate the consumption of Chinese medicine in the United States.

Patients often buy Chinese medicine according to the prescriptions or suggestions of Chinese medicine acupuncturists. In clinics with Chinese medicine stores, patients buy medicines directly with prescriptions. In those clinics where there are no Chinese medicine shops or there are insufficient varieties of Chinese medicine, patients go to Chinese medicine shops to buy medicine with prescriptions. Many Chinese medicine shops employ Chinese medicine practitioners to sit in the classroom, diagnose and prescribe medicines for customers and guide the purchase of medicines.

Of course, some customers go to Chinese medicine shops to buy Chinese medicine with advertisements or their own knowledge of Chinese medicine. In San Francisco, Los Angeles, new york and Houston's Chinatown (China City), the density of Chinese medicine shops and Chinese medicine acupuncture clinics is actually higher than that of China City. The density of Chinese medicine shops and clinics in Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese communities (not necessarily called "Chinese medicine" or "traditional Chinese medicine" in name, but called "Korean medicine", "China prescription medicine" and "Oriental medicine", etc.) is not low. Most Chinese medicines circulate in these Chinese and Asian communities.

The following table reflects the basic situation of selling traditional Chinese medicine through professional channels in the United States from 65438 to 0994.

General situation of Chinese medicine professionals market in the United States

The number of professionals with thermal photos ranges from 8000 to 10000.

The proportion of people who prescribe Chinese medicine is 70% to 80%

Patients treated throughout the year 1000000 people.

The total amount of Chinese medicine purchased by patients is $30 million.

There are about 400 kinds of single Chinese medicines used.

The number of prescriptions used is about 400.

Mainly for diseases or problems.

Immune disease 15%

Women's health care 20%

Catatonic depression disorder 20%

Less than 20%

(3) Market trends

In recent years, the American traditional Chinese medicine market has gradually shown the following three favorable trends:

First, there are more and more acupuncture practitioners who study, understand and use Chinese medicine. There are more and more acupuncture clinics with Chinese medicine shops. The general public and acupuncturists are increasingly aware that acupuncture is not the whole of TCM, but only a part of TCM. Traditional Chinese medicine has more extensive functions and indications than acupuncture, so we should pay attention to it. In this way, the demand for traditional Chinese medicine is increasing, and the sales volume is also increasing rapidly.

Second, although Chinese medicine mainly serves the Chinese and Asian people in the United States at this stage, it has begun to penetrate into the mainstream society in recent years. This is also mainly attributed to the Chinese medicine acupuncturist. In many Chinese medicine acupuncture clinics, especially in western communities and clinics with acupuncture departments run by westerners, Chinese medicine acupuncturists often advise westerners not only to receive acupuncture, but also to take Chinese medicine, or even only Chinese medicine. Many western patients accepted the doctor's advice to take Chinese medicine, including Chinese medicine decoction. Westerners who eat Chinese medicine often value Chinese medicine more than people in China. In addition, some western Renye Fang go to supermarkets, pharmacies and natural food stores to buy famous Chinese medicines, especially ginseng and royal jelly.

Third, although most enterprises engaged in Chinese medicine are from China, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam, western enterprises have also begun to set foot in Chinese medicine. China's winter vegetables have also entered the product series of Natur@Made, a famous American herbal medicine company. The well-known Ginkgo biloba preparation has become the product of many American herbal medicine companies, and it is also the fist product of a famous German herbal medicine company in the United States. Oregon Eugene East Earth Herbal Company. To some extent, it is an out-and-out white American company that knows about the field of American herbal medicine. Its founder, Peggy Brevoort, was the president of American Herbal Products Association. The company started from operating products, and is also good at operating Chinese medicine products, which is well-known in the American herbal medicine industry; And the company often uses the theory, ideas and methods of Chinese medicine to develop herbal products.

(4) The situation and analysis of China traditional medicine in the United States.

In addition to the basic market situation of Chinese medicine in the United States, the following situations of Chinese medicine in the United States deserve special attention:

First, the improper route and the difficulties it caused. Most of the proprietary Chinese medicines produced in Chinese mainland that circulate in the American market enter China through abnormal channels, or are engaged in the import and marketing of Chinese medicine products according to the legal requirements of relevant American departments, which can actually be said to be illegal imports. As a result, these Chinese medicines can only be sold in Chinese medicine shops and acupuncture clinics in Chinese communities, and they cannot enter mainstream sales channels. These products can neither be advertised in mainstream media, nor can they buy product liability insurance. Moreover, because these traditional Chinese medicines are illegally imported, there are many problems that are not allowed by American law, which makes them always face the possibility of being confiscated by the FDA and the state government health department. Although in most cases, the federal and state governments adopt the attitude of "turning a blind eye" and "people don't lift it, officials don't investigate it", they take a routine sweeping action almost every year. During the search. These unscrupulous Chinese medicines have to be taken off the shelves to avoid the wind. In case of being caught, the goods will be empty. Moreover, once a customer complains or a serious product liability accident occurs, it is difficult for importers and sellers to get away with it, from compensation to criminal responsibility. California Health Bureau and FDA headquarters, which have the largest circulation of traditional Chinese medicines, have lists of traditional Chinese medicines that are prohibited or restricted from being imported or sold in the United States. These Chinese medicines on the list have been identified as problematic, and it is illegal to import and operate these Chinese medicines. In the United States, which is highly legalized, it is hard to imagine that this secret business can grow. It is inevitable that the management of these traditional Chinese medicines cannot be scaled up and become a climate.

Second, the appearance is inferior and the price is low. According to the quality standards of traditional Chinese medicine in China, most of the traditional Chinese medicines produced in the United States are not only qualified, but also superior. However, compared with the herbal products produced in the United States or imported from Europe, the Chinese medicine products on the American market can be said to have first-class curative effect, second-rate appearance and third-rate price. No matter from clinical experience or laboratory research, Chinese medicine in China can be regarded as excellent and effective in the field of American herbal medicine. However, the emergence of Chinese medicine products in China is dwarfed by that in Europe and America. Appearance includes two aspects, one is the dosage form of the product, the other is the packaging of the product. The dosage form of Chinese patent medicine in China has been greatly improved compared with before, but compared with the dosage form of herbal products in Europe and America, it is still backward in general. Don't say that traditional pills, powders, creams and pills are hard to be accepted by westerners. Even modern capsules, tablets and tinctures are far from the mainstream products in the American herbal medicine market. The gap in product packaging is even greater. The packaging of traditional Chinese medicine products in China is generally inferior to that of European and American products in terms of material, modeling, specification standardization, sealing performance and label printing quality, although the packaging quality of a few traditional Chinese medicine products in China has been greatly improved in recent years, which is basically close to that of European and American products. The biggest gap between traditional Chinese medicine products and European and American herbal products is the price. The average price of imported Chinese patent medicines in the American market is about $3 a bottle, while the average price of European and American products is about 12 a bottle, a difference of four times. Although the price difference is so big, the sales of Chinese patent medicines are far less than those of European and American herbal products. Probably "cheap without good goods" is a prejudice of Chinese and foreign people. In the United States, most merchants engaged in the import and export of traditional Chinese medicine are from China, and the most common way of competition in China is to bargain according to the situation. The final result is that the price keeps falling again and again, so that the competitiveness of Chinese medicine in the American market is greatly weakened, because operators can't set aside marketing expenses from the product price and fall into a vicious circle. This is also a major reason why it is difficult for Chinese medicine to enter the mainstream society in the United States. Third, the market share is inconsistent with the status of herbal medicine as a big country. From the origin and market sales, the most powerful herbal products in the American herbal medicine market are from the United States, followed by Western Europe (mainly German), followed by South Korea and Japan, and finally from China, India, Southeast Asia, Central and South America and other regions and international countries. Traditional Chinese medicine products in China account for about 3.3% of the supply market of herbal products in the United States. Because of the low retail price of traditional Chinese medicine, the proportion of traditional Chinese medicine in the American herbal medicine retail market will not be higher than 3%, and it will be concentrated in the professional market and Chinese community circle with the smallest sales scale, and basically enter the mainstream market. Chinese medicine exported from China to the United States is only equivalent to the factory sales of a medium-sized herbal medicine manufacturer in the United States (between $50 million and 1 billion), and the total annual sales of Chinese medicine in the American retail market is less than 1/3 of the annual sales of family businesses such as Shanni Mao Lei in the United States.

The production capacity, production technology level, product development capacity, product variety, output, raw material resources and industrial economic strength of China traditional Chinese medicine industry are second to none in the world. It is a superpower in the field of herbal medicine. However, China's traditional medicine products have such a small market share and weak competitiveness in the United States, which is really a far cry from the status of a big herbal medicine country. With the comprehensive strength of China's traditional Chinese medicine industry, we have overwhelming advantages in both American herbal medicine enterprises and German, Korean and Japanese herbal medicine enterprises. With the comprehensive strength of China's traditional medicine industry, the share of China herbal products in the American herbal medicine market should reach 30%; Judging from the current import volume and retail sales of American herbal medicine market, China's annual Chinese medicine export to the United States should exceed 300 million dollars, and China's annual retail sales in the American herbal medicine market should reach 1 billion dollars. In fact, this figure is only the annual sales income of a large dietary supplement company in the United States. Let's compete with an American dietary supplement company with the strength and ability of the ethnic Chinese medicine industry!

There is such a huge gap between the possibility and reality of American Chinese medicine in the American market. What is the reason? In the final analysis, China's Chinese medicine industry has a poor awareness of actively exploring the American herbal medicine market.