The plant extract industry is an intermediate industries, which are essentially within certain technical content of the pharmaceutical raw materials supply industry. Its development is mainly affected by the impact of the government's macroeconomic policy, the downstream product and international market changes. The current situation, these three aspects of the environmental factors are favorable in the main, which greatly promoted the development of the industry.   

In 2000 the Chinese government put forward the goal of modernization of traditional Chinese medicine, many listed companies have plant extracts as one of the raised funds. Injection of funds due to the intervention of the listed companies, to industry, at the same time into the technology and management, improve the industry as a whole size, equipment and technology to provide a solid foundation. On the other hand, 2000 had opened in Shenzhen GEM, as the emerging plant extracts, many companies use this opportunity to increase the scale of investment during this period, investment in research and the establishment of an international market, and entered the market counseling All these are conducive to the industry as a whole improved. China joined the WTO, the plant extract industry is to bring more market expansion opportunities.  

In 2005, the international pharmaceutical market growth rate of 9%, the herbal market was a rapidly rising trend, the market size of nearly $ 30 billion, about 40 million people use natural medicine, natural medicine sales have accounted for 30% of the global pharmaceutical market or more. Chinese health food into the 2004 trough, the rapid growth of more than 15%, the majority of the health food factory to build their own extraction plant, the main raw material provided by the extracts enterprises. Therefore, the international market demand for the rapid growth of the plant extracts market is extremely active.   

Asian plant extracts market grew rapidly in recent years, rapid development of Chinese herbs and oriental medicine, the demand for raw materials increases, stimulating the export of Chinese plant extract products. The United States is the country with the largest Chinese plant extract products export, despite the ephedrine export an annual growth rate of exports stable in more than 15%. Europe is the world's largest herbal market, accounting for 45% of the global share of greater than 25%, the growth rate of Chinese exports to Europe in recent years, the market has become a Chinese plant extracts most potential market.   

Although China claims to vast land, but in the plant extract industry in the early stages of development, Chinese companies at a low level of productivity, the harvesting of plant resources, while not considered long-term recycling plants, to take the destructive looting, coupled with on foreign companies to take low-cost predatory Chinese herbal medicine resources, some enterprises in the profit-driven, and even regardless of state laws, and serious damage to natural resources, such as Yunnan yew, Gansu, licorice, and Ephedra.  

The vast majority of plant extracts is limited by funding and regional restrictions, not be able to attract research talent, but also not to mention the establishment of R & D center; the other hand, laboratory and testing equipment behind, can not be applied in advanced extraction, separation, purification and drying technology, such as supercritical fluid extraction, membrane separation technology. The problems caused by the product technology content, corporate non-core products, which causes the lack of follow-up the momentum of development.   

In recent years, the international market attaches great importance to the pesticide and heavy metal residues in plant extracts, plant extracts or single herb preparations, should be of heavy metals is less than 5ppm, pesticide residues may not be detected, total bacterial count of less than 1000 / mg. From 2000 began to promote the planting of traditional Chinese medicine raw materials, according to the GAP standard, the plant extracts is not possible for all raw materials come from the GAP planting base. Pesticide and heavy metal residue has affected the plant extract products to international markets, especially the EU market.   

There is no uniform national or industry standards in plant extracts, although some plant extract suppliers formulate some standards, the majority companies do business base on the quality provisions in the contract, but the detection method of the product is a bit confused, which effect much the competition in the international market, and seriously hampered the industry development.  

Source: http://www.cospcn.com