China's export prices of licorice rose year by year

In 2011, China's exports of licorice were 3,300 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.25%; the export price was US$5.49/kg, which was a year-on-year increase of 31.53%. In recent years, licorice has become popular in domestic and foreign markets, and the price is high. The main reasons are:

1. The rise of natural medicines in various countries has led to a steady increase in the drug usage of licorice. Licorice is known as the “Five Sides and Nine Grasses” and its underground rhizomes are used as medicines. It has the effects of clearing away heat and toxic substances, relieving cough and phlegm, supplementing spleen and stomach, and reconciling various medicines. Western medicine uses its taste and flavor. It is also the main raw material for more than 100 proprietary Chinese medicines such as compound licorice tablets. In recent years, medical research has found that licorice has significant effects in weight loss, anti-cancer, and anti-AIDS.

2. With the in-depth research on licorice, non-pharmaceutical industry has developed and utilized licorice more and more widely. Currently, licorice is widely used in food, daily chemical, tobacco, petroleum, and dyes, in addition to medical and healthcare industries.

3. The shortage of licorice resources has become a worldwide problem. Although artificial licorice has made breakthroughs in many key technologies, there are still many problems. The low content of active ingredients of artificial licorice, the imperfect quality evaluation system of medicinal materials, and the incomplete cultivation techniques restrict the development of the artificial planting industry of licorice.

From the perspective of export regions, Japan, South Korea, China Taiwan, Germany, and the United States are the main regions for China's licorice exports. According to statistics from China Customs, in 2011, China's exports of licorice products to Asia amounted to 16,063,500 U.S. dollars, an increase of 36% year-on-year, accounting for 89% of China's total exports of licorice. Among them, the increase in exports to Japan and Indonesia is relatively large, and the prices of licorice exported to Japan and the Netherlands are relatively high.

Currently, China's licorice export enterprises are mainly private enterprises. In 2011, China's private enterprise licorice exports amounted to USD 7,398,500, an increase of 16.37% year-on-year, accounting for 41% of the country's total exports; the licorice exports from foreign-funded enterprises and state-owned enterprises accounted for the national exports respectively. 29% and 30%.

With fewer and fewer wild resources, the amount of seeds collected is getting less and less. In addition, the licorice production cycle is 2 to 5 years, during which a large amount of fertilizer, pesticide, and management costs are invested, and licorice cultivation technology is high. From seed processing to planting and field management, a complete set of technical management is required. The relevant departments should formulate a series of preferential policies to encourage the production of licorice, and support the cultivation and production of licorice from the aspects of capital, technology, and talents. In this way, it will not only protect the limited wild resources, but also promote the development of licorice production, and it can also meet the growing market demand.