There are good prospects for export growth from LDCs in this market. Sales of herbal medicine alone are estimated to have exceeded US$ 12.5 billion in 1994 and US$ 30 billion in 2000, with annual growth rates averaging between 5% and 15%, depending on the region. The herbal supplements market had an even higher annual average growth rate of 25% between 1990 and 1997.
On the occasion of UNCTAD X (Bangkok, February 2000), ITC organized a buyers-sellers meeting among pharmaceutical companies. The meeting was the culmination of extensive preparatory work, starting with trade-flow analyses and followed by detailed supply and demand surveys in 13 countries of South and South-East Asia.