Southwest China's Sichuan Province is emerging as the country's leading production base of processed traditional Chinese medicines after a decade-long development.
The output value of processed medicines in Sichuan rose from 80million yuan (US$ 9.6 million) in 1990 to 5.2 billion yuan (US$ 626 million) last year.
The figure is expected to top 6 billion yuan (US$ 722 million) this year, a provincial official told the 2002 International Conference on Modernizing Traditional Chinese Medicine in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan.
Sichuan has 120 enterprises engaging in the production of processed traditional Chinese medicines and 90 others for herbal medicines. Nearly 50 enterprises have earned the good manufacturing practice (GMP) accreditation.
Known as the "land of herbal medicine", Sichuan grows 5,000 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine plants on 66,000 hectares with an annual output of 100,000 tons, accounting for one third of the national total output.
The provincial government has listed medicine production as one of its pillar industries and earmarked 33 million yuan (US$ 3.9 million) over the past three years for developing new medicines. Over 60 kinds of new medicines have passed state medical assessment and been put into clinical experimentation.
(People?s Daily November 5, 2002)
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