Malaysia herbal medicine sector to post healthy growth

 

THE herbal medicine industry in Malaysia is set to grow by 15 per cent per annum from RM9 billion last year, despite obstacles and a slower economy.

Global Bio-Herbs Economic Forum Council chairman and founder Datuk Yeat Sew Chuong said although the global industry is faced with many challenges, the acceptance for herbal medicine is growing due to confidence in the product.

The challenges include lack of scientific data to support claims of medicinal parts of a herb-based medicine; regulatory issues; and standardisation issues with regard to development methods and technology.

"We need to focus on these issues at a global level and address them to move forward the industry," Yeat said after introducing some of the speakers for the 2nd Global Bio-Herbs Economic Forum (GBHEF) which starts today.

Yeat, who is chief executive officer of INS Bioscience Bhd, hopes to create the biggest e-herb selling platform in the world to give the industry a boost. It is doing this via Easy Pha-max Marketing Sdn Bhd, a unit of INS and main presenter of the GBHEF.

"The industry has become a hot topic in the global market. We expect the herbal medicine sector to be one of the key drivers in pushing the global economy," he said.

Globally, the industry is valued at about US$200 billion (RM720 billion) and is projected to be worth US$5 trillion (RM17.3 trillion) by 2050.

GBHEF, which will be held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre until November 17, is expected to accelerate the growth of herbal medicine industry and create overseas business opportunities for local players.

There will be over 80 booths to showcase the latest health products from around the world, attracting some 3,000 participants.

It will feature 28 speakers who are academics, scientists, herbal experts, "herbalpreneurs" and government officers from various countries.