Promoting the export of cinnamon, star anise and medicinal plant products

In order to continue promoting the export of this product, on September 28, the Ministry of Industry and Trade held a trade promotion conference with the system of foreign trade agencies in September 2023 with the theme "Promoting the export of cinnamon, star anise and medicinal plant products".

Attending the conference were delegates from agencies under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Trade Offices, Vietnam Trade Office Branches, Vietnam Trade Promotion Offices Abroad, Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry Associations, businesses and news agencies.

The conference focused on exchanging and updating information on the situation, developments, regulations on policies, new requirements for imports, assessing consumer tastes of the import market for cinnamon, star anise and medicinal plant products; discussing and assessing opportunities, proposing solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles in import and export activities, and requirements for trade promotion for cinnamon, star anise and medicinal plant products.

Accordingly, the Conference took place in 2 main sessions: Session 1 was for representatives: Department of Traditional Medicine Management (Ministry of Health), Yen Bai province - a locality with abundant sources of spices and medicinal plants, large planting area, discussing difficulties, advantages, proposing support needs and initiatives related to implementing trade promotion activities, import and export of cinnamon, star anise and medicinal plants to foreign markets.

Session 2 is for representatives of Trade Offices and Vietnam Trade Promotion Offices in the United States, India, China, Pakistan, Hong Kong (China), Taipei (China) - potential markets with significant demand for cinnamon, star anise and medicinal plant products - to update information on the market situation; some regulations, standards and market conditions that may affect the import and export activities of cinnamon, star anise and medicinal plant products of Vietnam; and to make recommendations for localities, associations and import-export enterprises.

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Vu Ba Phu - Director of the Department of Trade Promotion said that on the world medicinal herbs map, Vietnam is assessed to have a diverse source of medicinal herbs; the proportion of rare natural medicinal herbs is still quite rich. According to statistics, our country currently has about 5,100 species of medicinal plants. With this source of medicinal herbs, Vietnam has many potentials and advantages to develop medicinal herbs into an economic sector.

As for cinnamon, the current cinnamon area in Vietnam is about 150,000 hectares, accounting for 17% of the global cinnamon area. Currently, Vietnam is the third largest cinnamon producing and exporting country in the world in terms of output, after Indonesia and China. Star anise is a native plant that very few countries possess, the majority being Vietnam and China.

Cinnamon, anise and medicinal plants products are increasingly gaining attention and expanding export markets due to changes in consumer awareness, views and tastes towards a green, clean, healthy lifestyle and immune-boosting support. In addition, there is the strong development of the global pharmaceutical, functional food, food processing, cosmetic and pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, and the widespread popularity of culinary culture using natural, traditional flavors, imbued with the national identity.

Up to now, Vietnam's cinnamon and medicinal plant processing industry has gradually moved to a sustainable development stage, gradually reducing raw products and traditional cultivation, increasing specialized processed products with higher competitive value, and promoting production according to the value chain. This is an advantage that can help increase the value of Vietnamese cinnamon and medicinal plant products in the future, not only creating a brand but also making Vietnam an important source of cinnamon and medicinal plants in the world market.

Regarding the market, currently, Vietnamese cinnamon and star anise are strongly consumed in many regions of South Asia (such as India, Bangladesh), the Middle East (UAE, Pakistan), East Asia (Japan, Taiwan - China, Korea), the US and countries in the European Union - EU. With the increasing trend of demand for raw materials in the food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical industries... and many free trade agreements signed, Vietnamese cinnamon and star anise products have more motivation and opportunities for development.

Vietnam's cinnamon and star anise export value has been increasing continuously over the years and in 2022 alone it reached about 276 million USD, but this figure is still small compared to the global medicinal herbs market share. One of the reasons why Vietnamese medicinal herbs only account for a very small market share in the total revenue of the global medicinal herbs market is that most of Vietnamese medicinal herbs are exported in the form of raw materials. In addition, export products with strengths such as cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, turmeric, sophora japonica... are still fragmented, small-scale, and each person does their own thing.

“After the conference, with the responsibility of being the agency performing the function of state management of industry and trade, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to synthesize the support needs and recommendations and proposals of localities, associations, and enterprises, coordinate with relevant ministries and branches to focus on resolving within their authority or report to the Government and the Prime Minister for consideration and direction to resolve issues under the authority of the Government, contributing to promoting the development of production and export of cinnamon, star anise and medicinal plant products, supporting enterprises in the industry to participate more deeply in the global value chain” - Mr. Vu Ba Phu emphasized./.

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