Healthy Herbs

There is an old saying that in the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity. This also holds true for Thai herbs, which have become more popular among users during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Since the pandemic hit the country early last year, a number of Thai herbs have been in demand, and some of them with anti-viral properties have become rising stars of the herbal world, such as Kaempfer or Kra Chai, and Kariyat or Fah Talai Jone. The latter was recently listed in the National List of Essential Medicines for curing Covid-19

Over the past few years, the market for Thai herbs has expanded both at home and overseas, in contrast to other products. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, consumption of Thai herbs as well as the market value have grown around 10 to 10.3 per cent a year since 2017, and the growth rate is on the rise. The Commerce Ministry estimates that last year alone, the market value of Thai herbs reached THB108 billion.

Worldwide, herbs have become increasingly popular with market value estimated at up to THB3 trillion. In China, Japan and South Korea, the market growth rates for herbs are estimated at around 5.06 per cent, 0.85 per cent, and 5.43 per cent, respectively.

Thailand has been exporting herbs in various forms -- fresh or dried herbs, extracted products, food and drugs, as well as food supplementary products. They have a combined market value of up to THB100 billion. Of this, herb-based food products are valued at around THB 80 billion, spa products THB10 billion and traditional Thai medicines THB10 billion.

Associate Professor Surakij Natheesuwan, a dean at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Mahidol University, said the Covid-19 outbreak had resulted in expansion of the Thai herbs market. Apart from the fact that they are relatively safe, some of them contain anti-viral qualities effective against Covid-19, he said.

At the same time, the government has also given importance to these herbs. It introduced a five-year master plan from 2017 to 2021 to specifically address the development of Thai herbs and this has improved over the years.

Over 1,800 herbs have been studied and recognised for their qualities, and 300 of them are popularly used. Some herbs have been picked by the government as “champion products”, such as Kaempfer, cassumunar ginger or Phlai, turmeric or Khamin Chan, and gotu kola or Baibuabok, while Fah Talai Jone and other herbs have become the rising stars for their anti-viral qualities.

Surakij said the government’s clear and direct policy has enabled rapid development of the products because producers’ risks are ameliorated, especially among those producing food or food supplementary products, spa and beauty products, as well as medicines.

“The Thai herbs market is indeed one of our economic pillars for our survival,” said Surakij.

“This is because it’s an economic activity, which is based on our own raw materials as well as native wisdom. As people have discovered that herbs can help kill the Covid-19 virus, they have become more precious, with value-addition in the market both here and abroad.”

Surakij suggested that the concerned parties maintain the quality of the products as well as production standards so that people’s trust and confidence in the products remain.

“The government must promote quality products and support producers to make products with high quality and technology. The herbs will help our economy survive through this hard time,” said Surakij.

Product development expansion

Since the government picked some herbs as “champion products” following the National Thai Herbs Policy Committee’s resolution last year, production of Thai herbs has expanded.

According to the committee, over 114,975 tons of herbs were harvested from 45,990 rai (7,358 hectares) last year.

The committee has also scaled up the production by promoting the so-called Herb City in 14 provinces nationwide. They are classified in groups; raw material cities (Amnart Charoen, Surin, Maha Sarakham, Sakon Nakhon, and Uthai Thani provinces), industrial herb production cities (Nakhon Pathom, Saraburi, Prachin Buri, and Chanthaburi provinces), and herb-based tourism and spa cities (Chiang Rai, Phitsanulok, Udon Thani, Surat Thani and Songkhla provinces).

The government also plans to use more herbs in hospitals, especially in local settings. It has been promoting the use of Thai herbs in place of imported medicines in a number of community hospitals. In the future, it will push for up to 80 per cent herbs in beauty and cosmetics ingredients, 18-20 per cent in food supplements, and 4 to 5 per cent in medicines.

The Thai Chamber of Commerce University’s International Trade Studies Centre conducted an analysis on the market value of Thai herbs between 2017 and 2021 in these provinces plus Bangkok, and found some positive development patterns in these areas. For instance, the products with the most potential at the final process were medicines, beauty products and food supplements, while Songkhla, Nakhon Pathom, and Surat Thani were among most active provinces in promoting production from raw materials to initial processing.

However, the country is still facing some limitations in developing and promoting Thai herbs because of lack of capital and technology.

Last, but not the least, is the knowledge and understanding in the standards of practice of herb producers.The centre’s director, Dr Ath Pisarnvanich, said Thailand has rich biodiversity, which is the country’s strength, but an extensive content of herbs is still imported for processing here because local plants or raw materials are not well explored and studied.

“Thailand has a lot of potential and research and development is needed to be advanced to help facilitate commercialisation of Thai herbs,” he said

Besides the “champion products”, another rising star is cannabis.

Since being delisted from the list of narcotics here, cannabis has become increasingly popular as it has medicinal properties no less than other rising stars.

It’s estimated that the market for cannabis-based products would continue to grow, with market value possibly of up to THB21 billion in 2024. The government is planning to brand it and hemp as “champion products”.

The Thai Traditional Medicine Department

recently promoted local cannabis planting in Buri Ram province’s Non Malai village, where 5,000 villagers are allowed to grow at least six plants per household. Grouped under a community-based enterprise, they will be able to join the government’s programme of medicinal cannabis production by submitting their cannabis to hospitals for medicinal production. The project in the village will be a model for other communities to learn from, according to the provincial public health office.

The knowledge platform about cannabis and medicinal production has also been launched by Abhaibhubejhr Hospital in Prachin Buri province, a medicinal cannabis production model of the country. AbhaiHerb chatbot is now available on Line application to boost public understanding about the plant.