Plant extract industry is a rapidly developing industry, and the market competition is fierce. Due to the lack of industry standards, there are some problems in plant extract industry, such as relatively chaotic production, low industrial concentration and indistinguishable advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the plant extract industry is in urgent need of a standard system for industrial development. Not long ago, China Chamber of Commerce for import and export of medical and health care products issued a version of international business standard for plant extracts, which is the third batch of standards issued by China Chamber of Commerce for import and export of medical and health care products since the drafting of the standard began in 2001.

In recent years, the plant extract industry has developed rapidly. However, since 2016, the export growth of plant extracts has slowed down, and the industry has entered a period of adjustment. According to the statistics, the export volume of plant extracts in 2016 was 1.93 billion US dollars, down 10.93% year-on-year. From January to April 2017, the export volume of plant extracts was US $650 million, a year-on-year decrease of 12.38%, and the downward trend is still continuing.

From the perspective of export products, the proportion of products for food use is increasing among the products that have been exported in previous generations. From the perspective of export market, the export to European market increased significantly, reaching 3.44% in 2016, while the export to North America and Asia decreased by - 1.28% and - 18.78% respectively. At present, the United States is the largest exporter of plant extracts in China, followed by Japan and South Korea. Most plant extract enterprises, including trade and production enterprises, can only provide several or dozens of primary products. China's plant extract industry is facing transformation and upgrading. Yu Zhibin, director of traditional Chinese Medicine Department of China Chamber of Commerce for import and export of health care products, said that the lack of standards has become an important factor hindering the development of the industry. In foreign trade, because there is no reference standard, most of the time, enterprises can only take the customer contract as the basis and lack the right to speak in foreign negotiations. In addition, there are also difficulties for enterprises to apply for food production license in China. Many products can not apply for production license due to the lack of national standards, and the industry urgently needs to meet the standard system of industrial development.

In response to the requirements of enterprises, China Chamber of Commerce for the import and export of medical and health products has actively promoted the formulation of international business standards for plant extracts. Through the introduction of three batches of standards, the industry has gradually standardized, the product quality has been improved to be more standardized. According to the introduction of relevant personnel of China Chamber of Commerce for import and export of pharmaceutical and health products, the 2017 edition of "international business standards for plant extracts" summarizes all previous standards for plant extracts and has the following three highlights: first, it is professional because it was referred to the relevant provisions of plant extracts in the 2015 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia and dietary supplements in the United States Pharmacopoeia in the formulation process. Also, it is integrity. Through the standard formulation meeting, the unified compilation principle is determined, and the common standard general principles are formed. Third, the strongest expert team has carried out relevant cooperation with core scientific research institutes such as China Institute for food and drug control and USP institutions.

Different enterprises also have different views on the introduction of the new standard. Large enterprises welcome the new standard, while some small enterprises feel pressure. There is still a lot of chances for the development of plant extract industry. The decline of export at this stage means that the industry is transforming, and it also shows that the extensive development is coming to an end. Quality control has become the development trend of plant extract industry. With the continuous improvement of standards, green and healthy plant extracts will become the mainstream of consumption in the future.

The publication of "international business standard for plant extracts" has aroused wide attention of the peers at home and abroad. According to reports, USP is considering incorporating some commercial standards into the US standard system. At the same time, China Chamber of Commerce for import and export of medical and health products has also started cooperation with USP agencies to select the standards recognized by both sides, and jointly form a "China and USA plant composition standard set", so as to achieve the common standard reference of China and USA plant product trade through bilateral negotiations. For domestic enterprises, when they need to apply for food safety production license (QS certification), in the absence of national standards, international business standards can be used as a strong reference to meet the needs of domestic trade. In addition, the commercial standard is also the main reference when the commodity inspection ports carry out import and export supervision, if they need to test related products. Next, the chamber of Commerce for import and export of health care products of traditional Chinese medicine will cooperate with CFDA to promote the healthy development of plant extract industry.

It is understood that for the main development of China's plant extract industry, more plant extracts will be included in the standard to form a unique plant extract standard system in the world. At present, China Chamber of Commerce for import and export of medical and health products has started the project of the fourth batch of plant extract standards, and the new batch of standards will be based on the principle of lenient entry and strict exit, considering the industry situation and scientific standards, with 25 projects varieties. China Chamber of Commerce for import and export of health care products expects more enterprises to participate in the formulation of international business standards for plant extracts.