API: Emerging Markets

High-end products: mixed medical dressings: prices soaring trade deficit: short-term hard to turn

In the first quarter of this year, the world economy continued to recover, the global pharmaceutical trade rose, the domestic pharmaceutical market developed rapidly, and the import demand for high-end and high-end pharmaceutical products increased significantly. China’s pharmaceutical trade achieved rapid growth at a rapid pace, and the import and export volume of pharmaceutical foreign trade reached US$ 16.224 billion. The growth was 41.07%, of which, the export was 10.119 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 38.13% over the same period of last year, and the import was 6.105 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 46.23% over the same period of last year. The increase in imports and exports was better than expected.

API: Emerging Markets

The expansion of global generic drug market demand and industrial transfer have provided opportunities and space for China's APIs to further expand the international market. In the first quarter, China exported 5.363 billion U.S. dollars of raw material medicines, an increase of 31.31% year-on-year, and achieved the largest quarterly increase since the financial crisis. Among them, exports to the developed markets such as the EU, the United States, and Japan rose steadily and the total increase in exports was 19.13%. Exports to major emerging pharmaceutical markets such as India, ASEAN, and Brazil increased by 39.15%, 45.64%, and 55.82% year-on-year, respectively. The combined ratio of the three regions increased from 24.69% to 26.9%. The emerging market's export of APIs has become more and more obvious. The most promising regional market. At the same time, statistics show that in the first quarter, the growth of the overall export volume of bulk drugs was mainly driven by the export volume, with an increase of 39.53%, exceeding the year-on-year increase in export value, and the export price falling by 5.89%, further illustrating that the domestic fierce market competition pattern has not improved. The price of export is prominent. In terms of main varieties, the growth of traditional bulk commodities was sluggish. Exports of 10 products such as heparin sodium, vitamin C, vitamin E, and penicillin industrial salt increased by 7.23%. Export prices decreased by 16.51%, resulting in a 10.48% decline in exports. More serious homogenization competition. On the other hand, the export of certain APIs such as macrolides, hormones, chloramphenicol, and tetracyclines has improved markedly, and both export prices and amounts have increased significantly.

High-end products: mixed

In the first quarter, exports of high-end pharmaceutical products represented by Western medicine preparations and medical treatment equipment differentiated. Western pharmaceutical preparations, as AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. transferred global pharmaceutical production to China, entered the ranks of export agents, and added new preparations in the first quarter. US$74 million directly boosted the growth of Western medicine preparations by 23.71%. However, excluding AstraZeneca's new export factor, exports of western medicines in China rose only slightly by 2% in the first quarter, greatly lagging behind the overall export growth of medicines. At the same time, the export of pharmaceutical preparations from local companies still focuses on underdeveloped markets in Asia, Africa, and South America, accounting for 80% of the total. Due to the low technical content of China’s export products and the low number of low-end products, it is difficult to effectively open the mainstream market in Europe and the United States, and there are still many uncertainties in the future.

The growth of medical equipment exports was strong. In the first quarter, it exported 1.423 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 52.82% year-on-year, accounting for 44.07% of the medical device export share. The growth of exports is reflected in two aspects. First, the proportion of high-end diagnostic and therapeutic equipment has increased. The export market of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging equipment, X-ray tomography, and color ultrasonic diagnostic instruments has expanded, which has led to an increase in the export volume of high-end products, thereby stimulating overall medical equipment. The average export price has risen by 54.90%. Second, the major export markets have grown in an all-round manner. The growth of emerging markets has been particularly rapid. The recognition of medical equipment in China has gradually increased in the global market; in addition, the export dominance of the original "three-funded" products has declined. The proportion of local companies has risen significantly. In the first quarter, the proportion of exports of "funded foreign-funded" diagnostic and treatment equipment fell from 63.6% to 63.93% over the same period. The proportion of local companies rose by nearly 10% to 35.98%, especially for private enterprises by 134.94%, but the degree of concentration was low and the export scale was low. Small is still the main problem faced by current "domestic capital" enterprises.

Medical dressings: soaring prices

In the first quarter, China’s exports of traditional medical dressings and disposable consumables increased substantially. Affected by the high price of cotton, the export price of medical dressings rose sharply. Among them, the prices of cotton wool, gauze and bandage rose by 39.12%, the price of cotton surgical towels rose by 46.71%, and the prices of bleached and unbleached cotton medical gauze rose by 68.4%. 136.77%, but there has been no significant change in exports. Combined with the analysis of global customs data (GTI), the significant increase in the prices of such products did not have a significant impact on the global market demand. In the first two months of this year, Chinese medical dressing products rose in volume in the EU and North American markets, and their market share increased by 7 and 11 respectively. Percentage points, reaching 58.11% and 56.44%, occupying absolute market share. It is worth noting that countries such as ASEAN, India, and Mexico are gradually entering the medical dressing market in Europe and the United States, especially in the European Union market. The growth rate in Thailand and India has reached 176.08% and 60.95%. Although the market share is less than 5%, The competitive situation has gradually revealed. At the same time, some former EU countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands have gradually withdrawn from the medical dressing market.

Trade deficit: difficult to turn in the short term

In the first quarter, China's pharmaceutical import market continued to maintain a substantial growth with an import amount of 6.105 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 46.23% over the same period last year. Imports of pharmaceuticals presented the following features: First, the concentration of source countries continued to increase. Imports of drugs from developed countries and regions such as the European Union, the United States, and Japan accounted for 75% of the total, with an increase of 50.78%; the second was from India, Brazil and other pharmaceutical industries. Faster imports increased steadily, with growth rates of 35.45% and 163.81, respectively. Third, the proportion of high-end pharmaceutical products increased. The specific manifestations were the rising import prices of western medicines and the increase in the proportion. The proportion of raw material medicines and equipment products decreased.

At present, China is entering an aging society, the domestic medical system is improving, the domestic pharmaceutical market is expected to expand, and the demand for foreign drugs will maintain a relatively rapid growth. However, due to the large differences in exports and imports, the trade deficit is difficult to have in the short term. Obviously reversed. However, in the medium to long term, China's pharmaceutical products still have room for further expansion in market growth and export prices. It is expected that the pharmaceutical exports in the second quarter will continue to be optimistic, but the growth rate will decline. (China Medical Insurance Association)