Yew Bio Pharm Group Inc 's Comment on Competitors and Industry Peers
We believe that we face little competition within the PRC for the growth and cultivation
of yew trees because of the amount of space needed for proper cultivation of yew
trees, the long period to maturity of the yew tree, the difficulties of propagation,
the scarcity of yews and the regulation of the yew industry in the PRC. Because
of the need for governmental approval to grow, cultivate and commercialize yew
trees, we believe that there are high barriers to entry to our industry.
Most of our competitors are smaller companies that do not have cloning technology
and therefore have to engage in substantially longer growing cycles to commercialize
yew trees. Our main competitors in the growth of yew trees and cultivation of
yew cuttings include Zhejiang Changshan Mandiya Yew Science and Technology Limited
Company, located in Zhejiang, China; and Luo Yang Madia Yew Science and Technology
Development Limited Company, or Luo Yang, located in Henan, China. For example,
Luo Yang has only approximately 300 mu (approximately 50 acres) of yew seedlings
under cultivation.
There is significant competition for the sale of furniture, handicrafts and potted
trees in the PRC. This is a highly fragmented industry in the PRC with innumerable
competitors and little, if any, concentration of market share locally, regionally
or nationally. Many of our competitors are probably larger than we are and can
devote more resources than we can to the manufacture, distribution and sale of
furniture, handicrafts and potted trees. Additionally, many of our competitors
sell furniture and handicrafts, not made of yew trees, at prices considerably
lower than the premium prices at which we sell our products. However, we believe
that there is relatively little competition within the Chinese domestic market
for our premium-priced yew products, primarily because of the scarcity of yew
trees and the regulation of the yew industry in the PRC. We believe that we are
the only business in the PRC that has been given permission to produce furniture
and handicrafts from yew timber.
While we do not manufacture TCM or any taxol-based product ourselves, we could
be seen as indirectly competing with companies that do manufacture taxol-based
medicine. We face potential competition from many providers of TCM for many ailments.
With respect to TCM specifically for use as a secondary treatment for cancer,
we may be seen to compete with companies such as Fujian Leephick Pharmaceutical
Limited Company, or Fujian Leephick, located in Wuping, China, and Qi Ao Chinese
Medicine Tablet Co., Ltd., or Qi Ao, located in Anguo City, Hebei Province, China.
Fujian Leephick is a fairly new company that we believe is only in an early stage
of its research and development. Qi Ao can be differentiated from our company
in that Qi Ao does not cultivate yew trees and requires third party supply of
raw materials to produce TCM, whereas we produce the raw materials and sell them
to our affiliate under the Development Agreement for the production of TCM, thereby
providing a reliable supply of raw materials combined with the financial assurance
of being paid up-front rather than being paid depending upon the timing and amount
of sales to purchasers of the TCM.
Ningbo Green-Health Pharmaceutical Company Co., Ltd. is a leading manufacturer
of food and drugs with substantially greater financial and other resources than
ours. However, taxol-based medicine is only one of Ningbo’s products and
they do not produce any other yew-based products other than taxol-based medicine.