Jan. 28 – A Chinese pharmaceutical firm plans to enter the European Union market via Sweden once a regulation on herbal drugs is implemented in 2011.

Lanzhou-based Foci Pharmaceuticals produces Chinese herbal medicine already sold to 27 countries around the world including the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia. It is China’s largest exporter of herbal products by volume.

According to the E.U.’s Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive all herbal medicine products must again apply for an authorization to market within the region beginning April 2011. It also requires that the herbal medicine show a total of 30 years  of safe and effective use including 15 years use in the European Union. Under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive, a company needs to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the herbal medicine through traditional use within the EU for at least 30 years or 15 years within the EU and 30 years outside the EU

“We have applied to export our medicine to Sweden and eventually other EU markets,” said Sun Yu, deputy general manager of Foci Pharmaceuticals told Xinhua. “If we cannot obtain the authorization, our products will be taken off the shelves in EU next year.”

In 2008, the Chinese herbal industry exported US$193 million worth of goods to the European Union.