Ginseng, a precious medicinal herb, has stimulated multiple industries related to food, drugs, health products, cosmetics, and biological products in Jilin province.

In the past, ginseng was most often soaked in wine, which was believed to have medical effects, but it is now made into more than 1,000 varieties of products.

“People used to eat dry ginsengs only. Last year, we began research on fresh ginseng and taught consumers to cook ginseng dishes at home,” said Li Xuejun, executive GM of Jilin Kangmei Xinkaihe Pharmaceutical Co.

Eating fresh ginseng is becoming a trend and creating a hot market for fresh supplies of the herb. For example, this year the company has sold more than 1 million fresh ginseng roots worth 150 million yuan, compared to last year’s sales of about 800,000 valued at 100 million yuan.

Since ginseng was admitted into the Catalog of New Resources Food in 2012, the province has tried to develop ginseng-based food and health products. There are more than new 500 types of ginseng foods, such as ginseng rice, coffee, cola, and bread.

In some large production areas such as Ji’an and Fusong, restaurants serving dishes with ginseng as a major ingredient are increasingly popular.

Ginseng is also added into cosmetics and skincare products.

According to Zhang Yisheng, president of Jilin Ji’an Yisheng Pharmaceutical Co, their ginseng madeups raked in over 100 million yuan in less than half a year after entering the market and nearly 200 million yuan in the first 10 months of this year, and have made their way into the Korean market, which is known for its strict demands for cosmetics.

The various kinds of ginseng products have boosted the price of the herb in the past five years. Last year, Jilin produced 27,000 tons of fresh ginseng, at an average price of 140 yuan per kilogram, 4.6 times more than that of 2009.

Statistics show that last year, the province had a ginseng output of 46.07 billion yuan, nine times as much as 2009.

The condition of sales before 2010 was so bad that the province started a scheme to advance the ginseng industry and gave favorable policy support in research projects and product promotions. The government encouraged ginseng farmers and enterprises to choose planting methods without pesticides and heavy metal residues to grow better quality herbs.