Vietnamese medicinal plants can generate more than VND100 million per hectare

Several medicinal crops in Vietnam could generate more than VND100 million per hectare, but experts warn that farmers may lose money if they plant without reliable buyers.

At a clean medicinal-materials development seminar organized by the Vietnam Institute of Traditional Medicine, pharmacist Ngô Mạnh Trí said domestically grown medicinal plants can deliver high economic value when farmers follow production standards.

Even perilla, a familiar culinary herb, could become a commercial and export crop. Some localities have begun pilot cultivation under VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards. Trí said perilla can be harvested after about two months, with harvesting continuing for seven to nine months. Yields can reach 15 to 20 tonnes per hectare, leaving growers an estimated VND60 million to VND75 million after costs.

Other crops, including đại hành onion, Stephania rotunda, black ginseng vine and jiaogulan, can generate more than VND100 million per hectare. Vietnam records more than 5,100 medicinal plant and fungus species, as well as dozens of medicinal seaweed and mineral resources. Annual demand for medicinal materials stands at roughly 60,000 to 80,000 tonnes, while domestic production remains insufficient.

Nguyễn Tuấn Hưng, director of the Vietnam Institute of Traditional Medicine, identified weak market links as a major problem. He said some cooperatives have grown hundreds of tonnes of medicinal materials but could not sell them. Experts called for cultivation areas to be developed alongside market demand and processing capacity, with quality controls beginning at the farm and stronger protection for valuable genetic resources. They also urged tighter oversight of imports, exports and the smuggling of rare medicinal plants and genetic material across borders.

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Some cooperatives grow several hundred tonnes of medicinal materials but cannot sell them, leaving them to become grass.