Strong market for traditional health products

Locally produced traditional remedies are standing up well to imported herbal medicine.
Malaysian-produced natural health products make up about 40 per cent of the RM4.5 billion-a-year traditional medicine business in the country.
Malaysian Herbal Corporation director Dr Rajen M said this today at the first international Women’s Health and Asian Traditional (What) Medicine Conference and Exhibition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here.
He said: "Compared with about five to 10 years ago, where most of the traditional health products in the country came from China or India, this is an encouraging trend."
Quoting a study by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Dr Rajen, who is also conference chairman, said that less than half the RM4.5 billion business involved approved products.
It is evident, though, that traditional remedies are not only selling well, they are also gaining recognition in the medical field.
Almost 350 scientists, doctors and scholars from around the world have gathered in the three-day conference to discuss the growing importance of Asian traditional remedies in global healthcare systems.
Speaking to the Press after opening the conference, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said there was a need to impose tighter regulations to prevent a glut of unapproved natural health products in the market.
"Strict monitoring and enforcement is crucial so that the public is not adversely affected when using these products. Only those that are safe must be allowed to be sold," she said.
She added that her Ministry would look into collecting the "secrets" of traditional remedies and keeping them in a database.
The conference was organised by the Malaysia-based Journal of Tropical Medicinal Plants, Tropical Botanics and the Malaysian Herbal Corporation and has attracted participants from 21 countries including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, China, Britain, Australia and the United States.
A total of 43 exhibitors are showcasing Asian traditional medicine at the conference.
NST