OFFICIAL PUT-DOWN FOR IMPORTED PICK-ME-UP HERB

IT'S the herb of the 90s but Australia's appetite for ginseng has
fuelled a new multi-million-dollar smuggling industry.

Customs officers have seized 207kg of American ginseng worth $150,000
at Sydney Airport, after it was airfreighted as cargo from the US via
Hong Kong. It was their largest haul.

About 70 illegal American ginseng imports are seized each month at
Sydney Airport, and airports around the country report similar seizure
rates, said NSW customs officer Chris Ryan.

International Post last year intercepted 67 illegal ginseng imports to
Australia, up from 55 in 1997 to reflect growing demand for the herbal
pick-me-up.

Mr Ryan said many seizures were due more to ignorance of the need for
a permit under the Australian Wildlife Protection Act than wilful
criminality.

Although ginseng is grown locally, the health industry and drug
manufacturers prefer the more potent North American plant to
Australian species, said Environment Australia officer Carmel Anderson.

It is illegal to bring the American plant into Australia without a
permit because it is an endangered species, but consumer appetite for
the herb's energy-giving properties is causing more people to run the
risks.

The plant looks like ginger, only darker, and is artificially
propagated in China and Korea, then imported to Australia. American
ginseng also comes to Australia from Hong Kong - the distribution
centre for the North American plantations.

The whole dried roots retail for $700kg, 10 times the price of locally
grown ginseng, said Sunny Duong, of Sydney's Chinese Ginseng and Herb
Company.

Nineties consumers value the herb for its ability to enhance stamina
and endurance, said Russell Bail, proprietor of Sydney health food
emporium Russell's.

Seized American ginseng is dealt with in the same way as other illegal
drugs - incinerated.