Contact Us
Chengguan District, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
© 2025 Jeifer Pharmaceutical, All Right
Reserved.
Licorice extract BP EP USP pharma grade has become a staple ingredient for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturers from the United States and Germany to Japan, India, and Brazil. Looking back at the last two years, prices have rollercoastered due to supply chain shocks, raw material shifts, and fresh moves from major players in China. The real drivers sit in a messy tangle of labor, environmental policy, energy markets, and local farming output, touching all 50 of the world’s largest economies. From the titans like the United States, China, and Japan, to fast-growing economies like Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa, each market sees a slightly different equation when sourcing licorice extract BP EP USP pharma grade.
Factories from Shandong to Xinjiang run almost year-round, fueling a national surge in output. Whether in Mumbai, Jakarta, Berlin, or Seoul, buyers set their eyes on China because supplier lists here stretch longer than anywhere else. Chinese farming covers both Glycyrrhiza uralensis and Glycyrrhiza glabra species, meaning raw material supply rarely hits a ceiling—an issue Europe and the United States continue to face, especially with stricter land use policies. When global logistics got hammered by COVID-19 and the Red Sea crisis, Chinese manufacturers switched gears, building tighter links to rail lines into Russia, expanded sea links through Pakistan, and air freight deals with the UAE and Turkey. Their vertical supply chains—from field through factory to export terminal—make for lower average costs per kilogram. In 2022, China’s price hovered around $13-17/kg for crude and $22-28/kg for refined pharma grade. By late 2023, energy fluctuations and a tough El Niño pushed some prices above $30/kg, yet domestic suppliers held price growth to single digits, unlike jumps seen in Italy, Spain, or Australia, where supply shocks have triggered spikes up to $50/kg for similar grades.
Manufacturers in China—such as those in Xi’an, Ningxia, and Gansu—operate FDA and GMP-audited facilities, attracting buyers from Canada, the UK, and France. Advanced spray-drying and solvent extraction lines deliver quality that meets stringent BP, EP, and USP monographs. In contrast, Germany and the United States push high on automation, batch reproducibility, and traceability, but punch in with a heavier price due to higher wages, compliance, and smaller scale. Firms in Switzerland and Belgium lead in solvent recovery and environmental controls, yet their production lines can never match the size or speed found across China. Buyers in large importers like South Korea, Turkey, Egypt, and the Netherlands weigh these factors against long lead times and shipping uncertainties from the West. India’s competitive edge comes from lower labor costs and flexible policies, though export quality battles with consistency and foreign perception.
The top economies—United States, China, Japan, Germany, India, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Brazil, Canada, Russia, South Korea, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Switzerland—are giant magnets for licorice extract. The United States counts on licorice for cough syrups, digestive aids, and cosmetics, where compliance costs keep pushing local manufacturers to outsource from China. Japan drives up demand for glycyrrhizin in herbal blends, fueling constant imports and raising quality standards. Germany mixes high sourcing standards with focus on regional origin, pressing for traceability from Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan unless supply gets squeezed. Rapid urbanization in Indonesia, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia grows new buyer bases, keeping pressure on shipping routes. Australia and Russia navigate their own land and climate challenges, often finding that local production can’t match the cost savings of Chinese or Indian imports. As these economies battle with fluctuations in currency, energy, and materials, China’s ability to buffer price shocks comes from streamlined supplier networks and strong coordination between government, farmer, and manufacturer.
In the United States, prices rose by almost 20% between 2022 and 2023—a big move considering that Japan and South Korea saw jumps over 25% and 23% respectively. In the United Kingdom, Brexit has thrown up customs headaches, driving some buyers to skip local suppliers in favor of direct deals with Chinese factories certified to meet BP and EP standards. Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina grow their own licorice roots, but turbulent currencies and issues moving product inland push up costs, putting Chinese imports at a major advantage for consistency and price. Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa face land and trucking issues, keeping local price inflation high. UAE’s reexport hubs smooth out some price shocks but rarely undercut direct China deals. Russia’s sanctions create pockets where supply chains need to find new routes, yet China’s overland integration into Central Asia helps fill the gap.
Vietnam and Thailand saw a run-up in prices after floods hurt regional output, so their importers leaned harder on China, despite tariffs. Poland and the Czech Republic tried boosting local root crops, but EU environmental strictness hit profit margins. Canada and Australia spaced big orders to avoid paying a premium during peak demand. Israel and Singapore turned to new blending techniques to stretch out supply, yet purchasing managers in both keep tracking the Chinese market daily. Turkey and India alternate between expanding local output and importing as currency swings demand regular recalibration.
Having watched order placements across Tokyo, Paris, and Istanbul for years, buyers have learned that Chinese factories adapt faster to regulatory tweaks and demand surges. When new GMP rules arrived from the United States and the European Union, dozens of Chinese exporters overhauled their lines almost overnight. Not every market has found this easy; manufacturers in Italy and Spain took months to pivot, missing out on quick turnarounds. Quality assurance teams at global pharma companies—many based in the United States, Canada, and Switzerland—report that Chinese GMP-certified facilities pass audits more often than their price point suggests, which keeps procurement managers coming back.
Supply disruptions tied to weather, logistics, and currency are always lurking. Floods in Pakistan, droughts in Turkmenistan, or labor unrest in Greece can swing prices across the scattered supplier base. Over the past two years, buyers in countries from Colombia to Kazakhstan have needed flexibility, and China’s layered factory network stacks up as the most reliable fallback. Complex logistics via the Belt and Road keep supply arteries open to Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, and the Baltic States—allowing volumes and costs to hold steady where others wobble.
Looking to the next year, raw material prices ride the wave of climate, labor, and trade policy. In China, expanding mechanization and improved crop genetics show up in more stable output and lower per-hectare costs than rivals in Iran or Afghanistan. Major buyers in the United States, Germany, and France expect global demand to rise at least 5%. Large order books in Canada, Australia, and Saudi Arabia base their decisions on forward contracts, locking in rates before summer volatility kicks in. South Korea and Japan bank on new tech to refine extract output, but the world keeps watching Chinese spot prices.
Currency moves—like yen weakness, euro swings, and the yuan’s stability—play a role in what buyers in Brazil, Russia, and Mexico actually pay, with real savings often flowing back to those who secure supply directly with Chinese GMP factories. Prices will likely edge up by 5-10% as buyers hedge against further shipping shocks and climate swings. As more top economies push for greener sourcing and redundancy, manufacturers with full supply chain traceability and robust certification will keep climbing to the top of the preferred supplier list. The gap widens for smaller buyers in Croatia, Chile, Peru, and Malaysia, who weigh China’s price and speed against local relationships. In the end, it’s the scale, control, and cost discipline of Chinese supply that continues to shape the future of licorice extract BP EP USP pharma grade in every corner of the modern global economy.
Chengguan District, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
