Used as medicine since times immemorial, this widely revered drug created international trade by the 3rd century AD, when China’s demand for ginseng allowed it to exchange its silk and medicine with Korea for wild ginseng. By the 1900s the demand for ginseng outstripped the available wild supply and Korea began the commercial cultivation of ginseng which continues to this day. American ginseng has been collected from wild plants and from cultivated stands and exported to China since early 1700s. Ginseng trade from Canada and America put an end to Korean monopoly. One of the earliest marketable herbs to be harvested in America, the ginseng trade continued to flourish until late 1800s. More than 75,000 pounds of wild ginseng roots were exported in 1822 and ginseng sold for 42 cents a pound (2.2 kg). By 1862 ginseng exports exceeded 300 tonnes per year and dried wild ginseng fetched as much as US $300 per pound in today’s dollars. Since 1960s trade in American ginseng has grown steadily and today there is a sizeable domestic market for the root.

The market price for ginseng in the world market varies from US $200 to a high of US $1,500 a dried pound for the wild roots. There are several grades in commerce varying from the highly priced, wild roots to smaller roots and root fragments. Korean root is however the most highly prized and expensive. While most of ginseng grown in the United States is exported, ginseng is imported from Korea for sale in the United States. India imports true ginseng mainly from Indonesia and Singapore.

As per ICO 2011 Global Trade Perspective on the World Market for Ginseng Roots, the total world trade in ginseng roots in 2011 was estimated at US $251 million with USA’s share at 29% with US $72 million and Canada’s share at US $107 million (42%). China ranks third in the world trade of ginseng having exported US $51 million (20%) worth ginseng. India ranks 15 in value out of the 23 countries exporting ginseng. Its export share was US $0.16 million (Rs 1.65 lacs) worth export to France. Hong Kong and the United States are the largest target markets for imported ginseng roots.

Wild ginseng is listed in Appendix II of CITES and in the United States it is monitored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Long-term survival of this economically important plant and the future of ginseng trade depend largely on the sustainable cultivation of the roots.