Chinese medicinal herbs are in short supply with annual demand soaring to 600,000 tons, four times the amount of ten years ago, Reuters reported. "The demand for natural medicinal herbs has been boosted by improved awareness of health and healthcare in an aging society," said Reuters, quoted deputy Health Minister She Jing as saying. But less than 200,000 hectares of herbs were farmed in 2004, some 70,000 hectares less than in 2003, the report said, "because of the lack of supply of wild seeds". The sector has become a 11 billion sector. China exported its traditional medicines to 164 countries and regions in 2005, with export earnings reaching a record 830 million U.S. dollars, according to the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine.