Financial Services Association, July 1 (Reporter Zhang Liangde) Today, the website of the State Drug Administration published a notice from the General Department of the State Drug Administration and the General Office of Customs requesting comments on the “Notice on Matters Relating to Permitting the Pilot Use of Imported Beef Yellow for the Production of Proprietary Chinese Medicines (Draft for Comments)”. It is proposed to liberalize the import of some natural beef yolk that meets the requirements on a pilot basis.

A person from Guang Yuyuan (600771.SH) told the Financial Federation reporter: “This opinion has a positive effect on finished medicine (production) using natural beef yolk as a raw material. From another perspective, it also shows that the country recognizes the efficacy of such proprietary Chinese medicines; in addition, it also has positive implications for the supply of raw materials and the control of procurement costs. If the supply of raw materials increases, products such as Angong beef yolk pills using natural beef yolk can also be provided to more people in need.”

The “Draft for Solicitation of Comments” proposes that beet from countries (regions) where the mad cow disease epidemic is not prohibited and meets China's customs quarantine requirements and drug quality inspection requirements will be allowed to be used on a pilot basis for the production of proprietary Chinese medicines. The pilot time limit is set at 2 years from the date of publication of this announcement. After the expiration date, work related to the import and use of beef yolk will gradually be rolled out nationwide according to the pilot work situation.

Currently, the price of high-quality natural bile yolk on the market is about 1.7 million yuan/kg to 1.8 million yuan/kg. Many Chinese herbal medicine practitioners believe that after implementing this policy, the price of natural beef yolk may drop.

Manager Du, head of Bozhou Pharmaceutical Network, told the Financial Federation: “Currently, the market price is around 1,700 yuan per gram. After imports are liberalized, the price of natural beef yolk will drop rapidly. Similar to Dilong back then, any imported Chinese herbal medicine will be affected by the import policy.”

Due to the continuous rise in demand for Dilong in recent years, domestic supply is insufficient, and prices have continued to rise, from 200 yuan/kg in 2018 to 260 yuan/kg in 2021. However, after an increase in imports in 2021, the price of Dilong fell to around 215 yuan/kg in 2022. Manager Du said that if imported supplies were not added, the price of Dilong would probably have been thousands of yuan.

The person in charge of a herbal medicine store in Anguo believes that currently the price of natural beef yolk from abroad is not cheap. It was around 1.2 million yuan/kg in the fourth quarter of last year, and now it is about 1.5 million yuan/kg. Prices may drop after the liberalization of imports, but the rate of decline and decline may not be that impressive.

There has always been an imbalance between domestic supply and demand for natural beef yolk. According to a Financial Services Association reporter from the Anguo and Bozhou herbal medicine markets, there has always been a high demand for purchasing natural beef yolk in terminals. Some large domestic pharmaceutical companies have also found it difficult for some purchasing managers to complete procurement tasks due to increasingly strict requirements such as purchasing documents.

Shen Yong, chairman of the China Medical Health Development Promotion Expert Committee and chairman of Beijing Shengshi Kanglai Traditional Chinese Medicine Marketing and Planning Company, told the Financial Federation reporter: “As the price of natural beef yolk gets higher and higher, it is also breeding a grey area. Under such circumstances, it is better to introduce policies to standardize the industry and promote healthy development of the industry.”

Shen Yong said that if domestic imports of beef yolk are liberalized, it will promote the industry in three ways. First, it will allow Chinese medicine companies in need to use better natural beef-yolk raw materials, thereby improving product competitiveness; secondly, it is beneficial to reduce the price of artificial beef-like raw materials, so that more beef-type products can be applied clinically; third, it will also have a catfish effect on the development of alternatives such as beef yolk and artificial beef yolk, and improve product quality and yield.