1. Introduction to the Project

1.1 Project background

1.1.1 Product introduction

Ginseng, also known as Bangchui, Shencao, and Dijing, is a perennial herb in the Araliaceae family. It has the effects of tonifying vital energy, invigorating the spleen and moistening the lungs, generating fluids and promoting diuresis, and improving intelligence and calming the mind. It is used for chronic diseases such as Qi deficiency, fatigue and weakness, spleen deficiency and diarrhea, insufficient appetite and weakness, fever and fluid damage, sweating, thirst or loss of blood, neurasthenia, dizziness and vertigo, kidney deficiency and impotence, and slow startle in children.

This project is planned to be built in Antu County, relying on Antu County's industrial advantages in ginseng cultivation that have always followed standardization, normalization and scientificity. It will construct an organic ginseng planting and processing project, and plan to produce red ginseng powder and raw materials.

1.1.2 Market prospects

(1) The current situation of ginseng cultivation

Ginseng is known as the "king of all herbs". Since ancient times, it has not only been a precious traditional Chinese medicine, but also an excellent tonic. Its value in the fields of medicine and food is widely praised. Changbai Mountain area in Jilin Province, as the main producing area and core producing area of ginseng in China, has a history of more than 450 years of ginseng cultivation and 1,500 years of wild ginseng collection.  The output of ginseng in Jilin Province accounts for 60% of China and 40% of the world, and about 85% of the ginseng transactions in China are completed in three major markets of Changbai Mountain, namely Fusong Wanliang, Tonghua Kuaidai, and Ji'an Qinghe. Therefore, there is a saying that "the world ginseng sees China, and the Chinese ginseng sees Jilin".

The upstream of the ginseng industry chain is mainly the planting industry, including ginseng farmers and planting enterprises. The midstream is processing enterprises, covering both initial and deep processing. The downstream includes two major groups: traditional Chinese medicine enterprises and consumers. Traditional Chinese medicine enterprises use ginseng as a medicinal herb, while consumers directly consume ginseng products such as food, health products, and cosmetics.

At present, ginseng planting in China is mainly distributed in eastern Liaoning, eastern Jilin and eastern Heilongjiang, and there are also introductions in Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong. According to data, the planting area of ginseng in Jilin, China in 2023 is about 11,329 hectares, a decrease of 1.3% compared to the previous year. The planting area of ginseng in Heilongjiang Province is about 3855 hectares, a decrease of 59.1%.

In 2023, the ginseng production in Jilin Province was 39,664 tons, and the proportion of production decreased to 56.78%. In the same year, the production of ginseng increased to 69,850 tons. The demand reaches 70,031.9 tons. The market size of fresh ginseng has grown to 8.502 billion RMB yuan. With the improvement of the domestic economic level, consumers' demand for ginseng has continued to grow in recent years, and the compound growth rate of ginseng consumption in China from 2010 to 2024 has reached 7.15%.

In recent years, the production and sales of Chinese ginseng continue to grow. In 2023, the output of fresh ginseng reached 69850 tons, of which Jilin accounted for 56.78%, Heilongjiang accounted for 28.63%, Liaoning accounted for 7.37%, and the demand reached 70,031.9 tons. It is expected that by 2025, the production and demand of fresh ginseng in China is reach 76,234 tons and 75,614.4 tons respectively. From the perspective of price trends, the average price of fresh ginseng in China has gradually decreased since 2014. The average price in 2021 was 121.4 RMB yuan/kg, and it is expected to be around 120.6 RMB yuan/kg by 2025.

At present, there are nearly 20,000 enterprises in China involved in ginseng cultivation, processing, and trade, but most of them are small and scattered, lacking leading enterprises with large or well-known brands, resulting in many small and medium-sized enterprises relying on foreign enterprises such as South Korea or strong brands. Although the output of ginseng in China accounts for more than 70% of the world's total output, the total output value only accounts for a small part of the world's total output value, and there is a gap of more than ten times between the output and the output value. This phenomenon has led to the situation of "high production, high export and relatively low production value" of Chinese ginseng. At present, Chinese ginseng is exported to South Korea, and the price after processing is more than ten times of the purchase price.

With the continuous growth of market demand, the market scale of Chinese ginseng is expanding, reaching 8.502 billion RMB yuan in 2023, of which domestic products account for 93.3% and imported products accounted for 6.7%. With the improvement of living standards among Chinese residents, health preservation has gradually become a trend in urban life. Various ginseng foods and health products will increasingly enter households and become a healthy choice for more people. It is expected that the market scale of Chinese ginseng will further expand in the future, and it is expected to exceed 9 billion RMB yuan by 2025.

(2) Market prospects of ginseng cultivation

Chinese ginseng sees Jilin, Jilin ginseng sees Yanbian. Yanbian has the most suitable natural ecological environment for the growth of ginseng, and has standardized qualification resources for "national brand" ginseng. In this place, ginseng starts from the source and follows the path of quality and high-end.

The ginseng industry in Yanbian has established a full chain development pattern of multi-point support, multi industry development, and diversified development, from standardized planting to refined processing, and then to international sales.

In 2023, the total output value of Yanbian ginseng industry reached 11.56 billion RMB yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13%, and is accelerating into the fast lane of high-quality development.

Yanbian is located in the hinterland of Changbai Mountain, with a unique ecological environment. The suitable ginseng land area in the whole province accounts for 70% of the resource area in Jilin Province, and has a natural advantage in planting ginseng, especially under-story ginseng. In the forest ginseng fields of Antu, Helong and other places, one can always see ginseng dolls with third grade leaves, fourth grade leaves or even older. The large-scale planting of ginseng under the forest not only breaks the mysterious veil of ginseng in the eyes of the public in the past, but also allows ginseng to bear fruitful fruits in Yanbian.

Yanbian Prefecture has always followed the development ideas of ecological, standardized, and standardized ginseng cultivation, insisting on equal emphasis on cultivation and protection. All 8 counties and cities in the prefecture have been included in the Jilin Province Ginseng Production Protection Zone, with 5 counties and cities included in the core zone. Two new varieties of ginseng, "Yanshen 1" and "Yanfeng 1", have been successfully recognized, and the scale of the high-quality seed planting base and breeding base continues to expand. We have successively approved the establishment of a number of national and provincial ginseng standardization demonstration zones, including the "National Comprehensive Standardization Demonstration Zone for Under Forest Ginseng Cultivation", "Standardization Demonstration Zone for Ten Thousand Mu Wild Ginseng Planting", and "Standardization Demonstration Zone for National Changbai Mountain Ginseng Germplasm Resource Protection". In 2023, the entire state will expand 2,175 acres of understory ginseng and harvest 22.27 million kilograms of high-quality fresh ginseng.

In order to seize the priority "voice" in the development of the ginseng industry, Yanbian Prefecture has formulated and released four group standards, including "Fresh Ginseng", "Edible Ginseng Powder", "Edible Raw Dried Ginseng Tablets", and "Edible Red Ginseng Tablets", based on the needs of ginseng industry development, filling the gap in standards in the field of ginseng basic processing.  Relying on the national ginseng product quality inspection and testing center and the "national brand" qualification resources of the National Ginseng Product Standardization Technical Committee, a total of 30 national standards related to ginseng have been formulated and revised, forming an industrial standardization system coverage. There are 22 standardized bases for non forest ginseng cultivation in the whole state, and the number of Changbai Mountain ginseng raw material bases has increased to 60, ensuring the quality of Yanbian ginseng from the root.

Antu County has a strong foundation in the ginseng industry and a complete industrial chain. From planting to processing to sales, all links are closely connected, forming a complete industrial chain, which provides a solid foundation for the development of organic planting and processing projects. Through technological innovation, improving the quality and added value of organic ginseng will further enhance the market competitiveness of the product. Meanwhile, brand is the key to product success. Creating a distinctive brand and enhancing product awareness and reputation will help the project stand out in market competition.  In addition, the implementation of the project will promote the formation of local industrial agglomeration effects, reduce production costs, and enhance competitiveness. Collaborating with relevant enterprises to achieve resource sharing, complementary advantages, and jointly promote industrial development is also the future development direction of the project. From a regional perspective, Antu County has abundant natural resources and a favorable ecological environment, providing unique conditions for the cultivation of organic ginseng. At the same time, the implementation of the project will also help protect the ecological environment, enhance the regional image, and create favorable conditions for the development of the project.

1.1.3 Technical Analysis

Land selection and preparation: Choose sandy loam or forest soil with good drainage and rich organic matter, with a pH value between 5.5 and 6.5. The land needs to be deeply plowed and carefully cultivated to facilitate the development of the root system. It is advisable to use grasses and legumes (such as corn, sorghum, foxtail millet, soybeans, and wheat) as the previous crop, and root and stem crops should not be used as the previous crop.

Seed treatment and sowing: Select healthy and mature ginseng seeds, and break the dormancy state through layering treatment. Soak and disinfect the seeds before sowing to increase germination rate. It takes 20-21 months for seeds to germinate in their natural state, and after 8-9 months of germination treatment, they can germinate earlier.

Cultivation management: including rational fertilization, water regulation, pest control, etc. We should pay attention to the use of organic fertilizers and apply appropriate amounts of chemical fertilizers based on soil testing results. Irrigation should be uniform to avoid soil erosion. Ginseng likes to be fertilized, but is afraid of not being fully decomposed. Therefore, it is recommended to use more element balanced shading machine fertilizers.

Shade and Light Adjustment: Ginseng prefers shade, and by building shade shelters or using natural tree shade to adjust the light intensity, it ensures the necessary lighting conditions for ginseng growth. The suitable light period is before 8 am and after 6 pm, and strong light at noon may cause damage to ginseng leaves.

Soil improvement: The key to planting ginseng in farmland lies in soil improvement, combined with land preparation, applying organic manure, green manure, and microbial agents to comprehensively increase the organic matter content in the soil. Organic fertilizers are rich in various beneficial substances, which can provide comprehensive nutrition for the growth of ginseng. Moreover, their long fertilizer efficiency is beneficial for microbial reproduction, improving soil physical and chemical properties, and increasing soil organic matter.

1.1.4 Advantageous conditions for project construction

(1) Policy advantages

The Implementation Opinions of the General Office of the People's Government of Jilin Province on Accelerating the High quality Development of the Ginseng Industry in the Province proposes to strengthen the development of ginseng food.  Support pharmaceutical and health food production enterprises to utilize technological reserves, inspection equipment, and production facilities to develop ginseng ordinary food, expand the application of ginseng in the food field, and enhance the value-added space of deep processing. Organize ginseng industry associations and research institutes to develop group standards for preserved ginseng, increase promotion and implementation efforts, and promote preserved ginseng as a new growth point for the development of ginseng food. Accelerate the development and utilization of ginseng health food. Support enterprises to apply for a ginseng extract food production license in accordance with the technical requirements of health food raw materials, and legally include the production of ginseng extract in the food production license.

Accelerate the development of deep processed ginseng products. We will focus on supporting research on non-traditional medicinal parts, active substances or effective components, new structures, targets or mechanisms of action of ginseng, and accelerate the development of innovative ginseng drugs for intelligence, antiviral, anti myocardial ischemia, and coronary heart disease. Accelerate the development of diversified and high-end ginseng whitening, moisturizing, skincare and other series of cosmetics and daily chemical products, actively cultivate high-quality and new brands of ginseng daily chemical products.

The Jilin Provincial Institute for Drug Control has issued the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the High Quality Development of the Ginseng Industry". The plan clearly states that it is necessary to focus on the technical difficulties that urgently need to be solved in the development of the ginseng industry. Through research on the grading standards of forest ginseng, analysis of the quality of garden ginseng, forest ginseng, and wild ginseng, systematic characterization and effective ingredient research of multiple ginseng production areas based on metabolomics technology, quality control and production process research of ginseng and ginseng preparations based on quality markers, evaluation of the quality of ginseng health food using modern drug analysis technology, research and development of ginseng health food, development of ginseng series cosmetics with anti-aging effects, research on the application of by-products from red ginseng processing in anti-aging cosmetics, and other topics, the quality of ginseng (forest ginseng) will be studied. Comprehensive development and application,  By deeply integrating technological innovation and industrial innovation, we aim to promote the high-quality development of the ginseng industry.

(2) Location advantage

Antu County is located in the eastern part of Jilin Province and the southwestern part of Yanbian Prefecture, along the transportation artery of Northeast China, with roads and railways extending in all directions.  The national highway, expressway, railway, and high-speed railway pass through the northeast of the county, and there are two railway stations in Antu County, one is a regular railway station (Antu Station) and the other is a high-speed railway station (Antu West Station), with extremely convenient transportation.  Antu County has a broad prospect for opening up to the outside world, and Antu Shuangshuangfeng Port is the only national level land port on the China-D.P.R.K. border. In addition, Shenbai high-speed railway is under construction and is expected to be officially opened in 2025. After completion, the travel time from Beijing to Changbai Mountain will be shortened to 4 hours, further enhancing the transportation advantage of Antu County.

(3) Project resource advantages

Antu County is located in the hinterland of Changbai Mountain, the first county of Changbai Mountain, and the largest producer of ginseng in Changbai Mountain. At present, the total planting area in the county is 626.5 hectares, with an annual output of 2152 tons. Datian ginseng has developed to 200 hectares. The area of understory ginseng has developed to 3580 hectares, mostly within 15 years, with an annual production of about 200 kilograms of understory ginseng. At present, we are actively developing the non forest land planting ginseng model to replace the traditional deforestation planting ginseng. It is expected that the non forest land planting ginseng base area will reach 1000 hectares and the yield will be about 800 tons in 5 years.

1.2 Contents and scale of project construction

The project plan covers an area of 80,000㎡ and includes the construction of an organic ginseng planting base, a scientific laboratory, a temperature controlled warehouse, an employee rest center, and other related facilities.

1.3 Total investment of the project and capital raising

The total investment of the project is 100 million yuan, including a construction investment of 80 million yuan.

1.4Financial analysis and social evaluation

1.4.1 Main financial indexes

After the project reaches its production capacity, the annual sales revenue is 55.56 million yuan, the profit is 16.67 million yuan, the investment payback period is 8 years (after tax, including a construction period of 2 years), and the investment profit margin is 16.5%.

Note: “10 thousand yuan” in the table is in RMB.

1.4.2 Social evaluation

1.5 Cooperative way

Sole proprietorship, joint venture, and cooperation

1.6 What to be invested by the foreign party

Funds or other means can be discussed in person

1.7 Construction site of the project

Antu County

1.8 Progress of the project

The project proposal has been prepared

2. Introduction to the Partner

2.1 Basic Information

Name: Yanbian Prefecture Bureau of Commerce

Address: No. 3322 Tianchi Road, Yanji City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province

2.2 Overview

Antu County is located in the eastern part of Jilin Province and the southwestern part of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. The famous main peak of Changbai Mountain and Tianchi Waterfall are located in the southern part of the county, hence Antu is known as the "First County of Changbai Mountain". The county covers an area of 7,444 square kilometers, with 7 towns and 2 townships under its jurisdiction, and a total population of 210,000 of which the Korean ethnic group accounts for 19.5%. Antu has excellent ecological environment and outstanding resource endowment. It is a national ecological demonstration zone, a national tourism comprehensive reform pilot zone, a national export quality and safety demonstration zone, a Chinese ecological origin brand demonstration zone, a Chinese green traditional Chinese medicine export base county, a Chinese mineral water town, a Chinese ginseng town, and a Chinese bee town. At the same time, Antu County is also the poverty alleviation contact point of the Central Policy Research Office and the only contact point for the National Ethnic Affairs Commission's national action to promote border development and enrich the people.

Antu's ecology is intact, which owns the most important and high-quality natural ecological resources for human survival and development, such as air, water, soil, vegetation, etc. As an ecological barrier in Northeast China, Antu has a forest coverage rate of 87% and an air negative oxygen ion content of over 100000 per cubic centimeter, similar to Hainan. There are the world's highest quality mineral water resources, with 88 rivers in the area, which are the source of the Songhua River, Tumen River, and Yalu River. The fertile black soil resources in Northeast China have nurtured precious and abundant under-story resources.

Antu has a pleasant climate, which in within the temperate continental monsoon climate, with first-class air quality 365 days a year. Antu has distinct four seasons, with an average temperature of 4.3 ℃ throughout the year and an average temperature of 19.3 ℃ in summer. It is an ideal summer paradise for enjoying the mountains, water, and nostalgia. In 2017, it was also named one of the top ten summer resorts in Jilin Province, known as the "Thousand Year Forest Sea, Ten Thousand Year Stream, Bathing in Coolness, and Touran Antu". The average temperature in winter is -12.7 ℃, which is suitable for outdoor activities such as hiking, snow walking, and ice sports. It is a winter that can be enjoyed.

Antu policy enrichment. Antu County is located in a border ethnic minority area and is a key county for poverty alleviation and development at the national level. Therefore, it enjoys a series of preferential policies such as the Western Development, the revitalization of the old industrial base in Northeast China, the Tumen River regional cooperative development, and ethnic trade counties.

2.3 Contact method

2.3.1 Project Contact Information:

Contact person: Liu Jian

Tel: +86-433-5923006

2.3.2 Contact person of the city (prefecture) where the project is located:

Contact unit: Yanbian Prefecture Bureau of Commerce

Contact person: Li Jingyu

Tel: +86-13596515933