Vietnam Imports Herbal Medicine Mainly From China

Vietnam imports herbal medicine mainly from China

HANOI, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) — Vietnam’s demand for herbal medicine stands at some 50,000 tons each year, most of which are met by Chinese imports.

Foreign herbal medicine, mainly Chinese, currently meets up to 85 percent of the local demand, according to the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Material Institute on Monday.

Vietnam, home to thousands of medicinal plants, should establish zones specializing in growing the plants, assisting growers and enterprises which collect and process them, the institute said.

Besides, the country should allow import of medicinal material or herbal medicine which can be grown or produced domestically to develop the local market and stabilize pharmaceutical price, the institute added.

Vietnam currently houses 162 modern medicine makers, including 12 foreign-invested ones, and 300 traditional medicine producers. Of the country’s total pharmaceutical spending, 40 percent are spent on locally-made products. It has set a target of increasing the proportion to 60 percent by 2010.