TRADITIONAL Chinese medicine (TCM) is hot - and the rising price tags for herbs are burning holes in consumers' pockets.

Demand for herbs here and overseas, juxtaposed against a shrinking supply of these herbs and herbal products, have pushed prices up.

Most of the world's supply of these herbs and processed medicine comes from China. Some are cultivated, others are harvested from the wild.

Mr Lim Choon Huat of Chien Chi Tow Healthcare shows some of the herbs that have increased in price.

Mr Lim Choon Huat, who founded Chien Chi Tow Healthcare, a Chinese traditional treatment centre, said: 'Supply is dwindling because of the changing weather patterns in China and vast urban development eating up available land.'

Growing affluence in China is another factor.

Mr Tan Lee Huak, general manager of Beijing Tong Ren Tang Science Arts, noted that while mainland Chinese were previously focused on making a living to pay for staples, they were now well-off enough to buy health-boosting herbs and other forms of TCM and supplements.

The rise in costs of TCM has not escaped Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who put down last year's 6.2 per cent jump in health-care costs to the rise in medical fees and prices of Chinese medicine.

He said in Parliament on Monday that TCM - included in a basket of items as a bellwether for the health-care inflation rate - cost 33 per cent more last year than in 2005, which went some way to push health-care costs up by 6.2 per cent.

For example, cordyceps, a herb said to strengthen the body's immune system, cost about $100 per liang (37.5g) in 2002 and $200 in 2004. Today, it costs up to $600, depending on quality.

TCM practitioners say the rise in costs of Chinese medicines can also be traced to stricter regulations imposed on manufacturers of Chinese proprietary medicine (CPM).

These stricter rules have resulted in the phasing out of CPM oral liquid preparations that failed to get official endorsement from their countries of origin.

Mr Lim explained that as a result of more stringent manufacturing requirements by the health authorities here, TCM practitioners have had to import the raw materials and brew the medicines themselves.

'This means additional manpower costs and it is passed on to the patients,' he added.

Mr Ang Liang, director of Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution, said the need to look for alternative herbs and escalating raw material costs have sent TCM herb prices up by 30 to 40 per cent in the past two years.

Civil servant Christine Sim, 30, told The Straits Times she bought more than $2,000 of herbs, including cordyceps, as a hedge against the relentless price increases.

She has her purchase stored at the herbalist's shop, so she draws down on her stash whenever she visits.

But practitioners assure clients they will keep their consultation fees affordable.

Mr Tan, noting that most of his clients were middle-aged or elderly without much disposable income, said: 'Sometimes, we even waive consultation charges. Unfortunately, the medicine is where the higher charges are.'

juditht@sph.com.sg

aprilc@sph.com.sg

leepq@sph.com.sg

This story was first published on Jan 23, 2008.