SUNS 4331 Wednesday 25 November 1998
SOUTH KOREA: GINSENG GROWERS HIT MAKERS OF 'PSEUDO' PILLS
Seoul, Nov (IPS/Ahn Mi-Young) -- South Korean men may be falling all over themselves to purchase the much touted anti-impotency pill Viagra in the blackmarket, but a traditional Korean herbal medicine that is said to cure the same ailment -- and more -- has become the object of
similar quests by North American men.
Korean Red Ginseng capsules have been flying off store shelves in Canada and the United States after medical experts there noted that the ginseng root-based medicine could work as well as Viagra.
Price may also be another come-on for the Korean drug, which fetches some 18 dollars per bottle of 100 capsules in North America. Here in South Korea, the men are forking over 30,000 to 40,000 won (23 to 30 dollars) per Viagra pill, whose appeal seems to be based largely on its being from the West.
Aside from being widely known as an aphrodisiac, ginseng has been used in Korea for treatment of arthritis, diabetes, insomnia, hepatitis, anemia, hypertension and a host of other illnesses. It is also
believed to retard the ageing process.
Local makers of Korean Red Ginseng products say it is high time that outsiders learn about the many health benefits of the ginseng root, which is a perennial in Korean traditional medicine.
But they also lament that it is not South Korean ginseng growers who are reaping the bulk of profits from the sudden popularity of the root, but rather Chinese and U.S.-based companies.
South Korean ginseng farmers already had a rather small share of the world market in the 1970s, taking only 10 to 15 percent of the total volume sold. But that shrunk some more in recent years to three percent.
According to local ginseng product makers, the world market has been flooded by "pseudo" ginseng pills and tonics from China and North America. They say these products contain only smidgens of real Korean ginseng.
Korean ginseng is said to contain much more saponin, which is the major source of the root's medical benefits. But even Choong-Chul Ahn, assistant deputy general of the state-owned Korean Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation, says "it is hard to scientifically prove the Korean Red Ginseng's superiority".
Still, he adds, "We are fighting an uphill battle on the world market against the counterfeit made in China, Canada and the United States."
The Korean Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation holds exclusive rights on the collection and production of Korean Red, which products, as well as marketing these here and abroad. It shares supplier rights with the Korean Ginseng Cooperatives Federation.
South Korean ginseng growers and product manufacturers worry that business involving the Korean Red Ginseng may go the same way as the White Ginseng.
In 1989, South Korea increased the number of licensed exporters of the Korean White Ginseng from 20 to 100. Industry observers say competition pushed down the price and compromised quality. As a result, White Ginseng products from South Korea lost against those from the United
States and Canada.
Last year, US and Canadian farmers sold 4.26 million White Ginseng roots, and raked in a total of 117 million dollars. In contrast, South Korea managed to sell only 180,000 White Ginseng roots.
These days, Ahn says, "Foreign counterfeits are offering an outrageous price for the (Korean Red) ginseng -- three or even 20 times lower than the price of (real) Korean ginseng."
The most expensive genuine Korean Red Ginseng has a tag price of 2,500 to 3,000 dollars for one 14-root box.
The Korean Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation usually signs on 2,000 farmers to whom it provides subsidies while they grow Red Ginseng. After six years, the firm collects the ginseng grown by the contracted farmers. Ginseng aficionados say only six-year-old roots should be used to make more potent medicine.
The company has the world's largest single ginseng processing plant. In a year, the plant processes up to 540 tonnes of raw ginseng into root products, and another 600 tonnes into capsules, extracts for tea, powders and other finished goods.
To raise ginseng, the climate must be mild and dry with four distinctive seasons. The soil must be fertile and well drenched by an average rainfall of about 1,200 mm yearly.
The central part of the Korean peninsula is the only place in the world that meets all these requirements, say South Korean ginseng growers. They also point out that ginseng cultivation in this country is chemical-free, and is the result of more a thousand years of ginseng growing.
South Korean officials have been helping promote the 'Cheongkwangjang' trademark for the Korean Red Ginseng at some 330 stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South-east Asia in an effort to fight off business rivals. China has long been targeted as a major market for the Korean Red Ginseng, but Chinese officials have blocked off legal imports of the product, say industry observers.