Ginseng - the precious herb found mostly in China and Korea - could be sold for hundreds or thousands of Hong Kong dollars a jin (the Chinese unit for 0.5 kilogram) in Hong Kong, depending on the place of origin and quality.
In Yanbian, China's main production base for ginseng , the herb sells for about US$30 a jin after processing, according to Cui Xuetian , vice-general manager of Sino-Korean Gong Kuem Ginseng Products Co.
Eighty percent of China's ginseng was found in Jilin province, of which one-third was from Yanbian, Mr Cui said. Hong Kong's medicinal practitioners said processed ginseng from Korea - considered higher quality than Chinese ginseng - could fetch HK$4,000 a jin in the territory.
Chinese ginseng costs only one-tenth of that amount. Mr Cui said South Korea had retained traditional growing methods while some Chinese farmers had been recklessly using farm chemicals to boost growth and output. As a result, the higher-quality Korean ginseng accounts for the huge difference in the price that many consumers, believing ginseng is beneficial to their health, are willing to pay for the Korean product.
"South Koreans are particularly keen on ginseng . They believe ginseng will make them strong and healthy," Mr Cui said.
A rush by Chinese farmers to plant ginseng in the early 1990s resulted in a glut in supply and a sharp fall in prices. At that time, fresh ginseng sold for about five yuan a jin - slightly more than carrots - compared with 25 yuan now.
Gong Kuem Ginseng , set up in 1992, is now one of a handful of Sino-foreign joint venture plants approved to produce ginseng products. These include fresh ginseng and its by-products such as ginseng health drinks for export.
"Business was good last year," Mr Cui said. Ginseng sales totalled about US$1 million.
The Taiwanese market has been a strong income earner for the company, although the market in the United States has consistently outdone Taiwan. Besides ginseng , Yanbian's rich tiimber and forestry reserves are also famous throughout the country.
Sino-Japanese Tensan Timber Co (Yanbian) assistant to the general manager Wang Zhenbi said: "The Japanese set up a timber processing factory in Yanbian because they don't want to exploit their own natural resources for environmental protection and cost reasons."
Sourcing timber is also a lot more expensive in Japan than in Yanbian, which is China's major base for manufacturing timber. It produces over 30 kinds of trees including Korean pine, white pine, Changbai larch and others.
Tensan, set up in 1995, now needs 10,000 cubic metres of timber as raw material every year to manufacture the 220 cubic metres of timber produced every month.
Yanbian timber authorities allow the exploitation of two million cubic metres a year in the region. Thin wooden plates used as the outermost layer for wooden floor tiles - semi- processed products - are a main product.
"Business has been plagued by the weakening yen last year, resulting in lower profits from yen-denominated orders," he said.
Mr Wang said that as the manufacture of semi-processed products carried low added value, the company was adding products with higher profit margins. Production has already begun on a small scale.
"We are aiming for the South Korean market," he said. Looking ahead, Mr Wang said the company would sell wooden floor tiles, instead of semi-finished thin wooden plates, to overseas markets because of their higher profit margin, leaving some of the semi-processed products to be sold in the domestic market.
SOURCE : South China Morning Post
1997. 05.
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