The market for Sophora Japonica buds will remain stable in 2024

1. Basic information of Sophora japonica buds

The dried buds of the locust tree, a legume plant, are known as locust bean. Locust bean is widely distributed in various regions, mainly in Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places.Among them, Quanzhou in Guangxi;Around Shanxi Wanrong, Wenxi and Xiaxian;Surrounding Linyi, Shandong;The Funiu Mountain area in Henan Province is the main domestic production area.

In summer, the buds of flowers that have not yet bloomed are harvested and called "Huaimi";When the flowers are in bloom, they are harvested and called "Huai Hua".After harvesting, remove the branches, stems, and impurities from the inflorescence, and dry them in time. Use them raw, stir-fried, or charcoal-fried.The buds of Sophora japonica have the effects of cooling blood, stopping bleeding, clearing the liver and purging fire.It is mainly used to treat symptoms such as hematochezia, hemorrhoids, bloody diarrhea, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, hematemesis, epistaxis, red eyes due to liver heat, headache and dizziness.

The main ingredient of Sophora japonica is rutin, which can maintain the normal resistance of capillaries and restore the elasticity of capillaries that have increased fragility and bleeding;Meanwhile, troxerutin, which is made from rutin and other drugs, is also widely used in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.In addition to medicinal use, Sophora japonica buds can also be used to extract natural pigments for various purposes such as food, color mixing, textile, printing and dyeing, and papermaking. The annual sales volume is stable at around 6000-6500 tons.

2. The historical price of Sophora japonica

Sophora japonica is a small variety, so there is less attention from peripheral medicinal merchants. It is mainly operated by long-term business owners, so the price of Sophora japonica is basically determined by the supply and demand relationship in the market.

In 2011, the new sales volume of Sophora japonica increased by about 40% compared to 2010, which stimulated the enthusiasm of farmers to collect; The new shipment volume in 2012 increased by about 20% compared to 2011. The continuous increase in the supply of goods has led to a continuous decline in the market.

In 2013-2014, although the locust bean market was not as good as in previous years, it experienced a brief rebound due to drought and reduced production, as well as many holders still holding hope for the future market.

In 2015, there was a large amount of new locust bean production, and the price began to decline steadily, from around 40 yuan before production to 35 yuan, 30 yuan, 25 yuan, and 23 yuan;

By the time of production in 2016, the price of locust seeds had once again dropped to 17 yuan. Due to the significant price decline, the owner of the origin purchasing station believed that the risk was low and began to purchase in large quantities. Due to the lack of actual purchasing power in the market and lukewarm market conditions, a large amount of goods are ultimately held up by buyers.

Although there was a rise in the price of Sophora japonica in 2019, due to the large number of production areas and the remaining inventory of aged products, after a brief price increase, there was a lack of actual demand, and the market fell back again, stabilizing at around 20 yuan.

In 2021, during the period of new locust tree production, continuous rainfall in many areas directly reduced the yield of locust trees by more than half. Even the harvested locust trees had poor color due to frequent rainy days. The consumption of aged goods, coupled with the reduction of new goods, has led to a continuous rise in the market. Due to varying quality, the price of locust seeds remains stable at 50-55 yuan.
In 2022, the market for Sophora japonica rice remained at around 36 yuan/kg in the early stages of production, but as production gradually increased, the price dropped to around 30 yuan/kg. In the later stage, the price of high-quality goods increased to around 40 yuan/kg. This year, the double season locust trees in Shanxi have reduced production, and the market has remained at around 30-40 yuan/kg. This year, the locust bean market has just started to develop, with prices around 20-24 yuan/kg. The market price of Sophora japonica is influenced by factors such as production volume, market digestion, and usage, resulting in changes in the price increase. ‌

In 2023, due to the low temperature in spring this year, the fruit setting rate in some production areas is relatively low, resulting in high attention from new season merchants, smooth supply and sales, and the unified goods market rising from 30 yuan to 35 yuan. Many businesses believe that the production of new locust seeds will become a hot spot in the market this year. But with the opening of a new era of production and the large-scale listing of new goods, the highest price of market regulated goods rose to between 36-38 yuan, followed by a pullback. Currently, the market regulated goods price is around 32 yuan.