Fw: Herb trade

May 6, 2003

Hi Simon,

Thank you for your kind offer of alternative sources available to you for herbs diminished by SARS. Yes, we have such contacts as well. Taiwan's 3rd largest importer/distributor of herbs eats at Dr. Liang's table a couple of times per year. In a good year he brings in 200-300 40'-foot containers of herbs. We are actually quite a bit upstream from him though we work at quite low level by comparison. We have various options open to us in Taiwan, the U.S. and, of course, in mainland China. It's a matter of capitalizing them at the right moment. The government of China in Shandong Province made us sell off 1,500 pounds of our 2,000 lb lot of Jin Yin Hua. This is from a government sealed container. So anything is possible in a panicked situation. I had some other business here in America, so we just loaded 1,500 of other herbs that I have a ready market for.

Right now the Jin Yin Hua is also Taiwan's problem if you've kept up with Taiwan news and headlines. Note that in mainland China the Jin Yin Hua gets harvested in the spring and then again in the fall from the same plants. In the current state of desperation, China has harvested the flowers, the leaves and even the stems of much of the crop. That means in the fall, the harvest of the flowers will be that much smaller since much of the plants have been destroyed by picking the stems. There will still be a harvest, but much smaller and the cost of Jin Yin Hua will be double or triple straight through the winter until the spring, 2004 harvest.

I'm copying this portion of this letter to CHA. Jin Yin Hua, Jing Jie, Lian Qiao and Ban Lan Gen will all go up in price straight through to 2004. They will still be available. A few other related herbs may be higher in price for the next year.

Your kindness to reach out as you have is both noted and appreciated.

Emmanuel Segmen

May 6, 2003

Emmanuel,

I don't recall if it's been noted here,

but a couple of weeks back, the price

of Jin Yin Hua in Beijing moved from

48 RMB per 500g to over 350 RMB per 500g.

In a rare move of market prescience,

I had just purchased a kilo of it

at the routine price so saved myself

a few hundred kuai. I don't know where

the street price stands today, but

as I understand it, most pharmacies

are out of stock and can't replenish.

It's just gone, rather has all been

diverted.

Reminds me of Bucky Fuller's illustration

about having millions in gold bullion

on a sinking ship. All that wealth

isn't worth one solitary rowboat.

And the plundering of resources in

the name of survival is simply breathtaking.

Ken

May 7, 2003

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dragon90405

Ken Wrote:

Emmanuel,I don't recall if it's been noted here,but a couple of weeks back, the priceof Jin Yin Hua in Beijing moved from48 RMB per 500g to over 350 RMB per 500g.In a rare move of market prescience,I had just purchased a kilo of itat the routine price so saved myselfa few hundred kuai. I don't know wherethe street price stands today, butas I understand it, most pharmaciesare out of stock and can't replenish.It's just gone, rather has all beendiverted.Ken.

As indicated in my letter. It's gone. Our agronomists have said that the government made the growers pick the leaves and stems to make up the shortage. The next bloom in September/October will be brief and quite sparse. The price will be as high as you indicate. For now Jin Yin Hua is gone from China. What's available as Simon correctly noted in his letter to me is outside of China. Some in Taiwan. Some on containers already at sea. If distributors have any here in the U.S., they are hording it. The absurdity is that so few people are actually ill.

Emmanuel Segmen