Traditional Chinese Medicine Photo: CFP

Major Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) enterprises have raised the prices for TCM by as much as 20 percent in December, CCTV reported on Tuesday.

Industry insiders said the price rise is mainly due to the general increase in the cost  of  raw materials pushed up by weather condition and tightened regulation.

Jiuzhitang, a listed Chinese TCM company said on Tuesday that the price of raw materials of TCM rose significantly in 2021 due to the weather and growing conditions with some precious fine and raw materials in sharp contradiction of supply and demand. The company said it will  adjust pricing strategies based on different products.

In the case of Angong Niuhuang Pill, a common TCM made from bezoar, saw the price of all 11 ingredients in the medicine increase by between 20 and 50 per cent, CCTV reported.

The price of all major TCM ingredients have raised sharply and prices for some types have doubled in the month, Hu Tengfei, a TCM trader based in East China's Anhui Province told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"For example, niuhuaixi, a common Chinese herb was selling for 22 yuan a kilo last month and now the price has surged to 50 yuan a kilo, "he said.

Hu said that the price surge is mainly caused by the weather, noting that heavy rain in central's China's Henan province earlier this year has impacted production.

Tightened regulation on TCM also boosted the price, he added.

"New medicine regulation which took effect this year has put forward higher requirements on Chinese medicinal materials in terms of pesticide residues and place of origin of the ingredients which resulted in tighter supply," he said.

In contrast to a relative low supply, demand for TCM has increased approaching the end of the year a with Chinese medicine a popular gift for the Spring Festival holiday. 

From 2016 to 2020, the market size of TCM has continued to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.4 percent, according to 2021 TCM Innovation and Development Briefing. In 2020, the market size of TCM  reached 2.82 trillion yuan ($443 billion yuan) and is expected to reach 4.80 trillion yuan by 2025, the report said.