Health & Beauty

In 2022, the export growth rate of Western medicine products in China, including raw materials, Western medicine preparations, and biochemical drugs, has decreased, but there are also many highlights in the sub categories.

According to customs data, in 2022, China's import and export of Western medicine products reached 114.739 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 3.55%. Among them, the export value was 64.311 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 5.01%; The import volume was 50.428 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 16.99%; The trade surplus was 13.883 billion US dollars, slightly decreasing compared to the same period last year.

China has been the world's largest producer and exporter of raw materials for many years. In 2022, "the rise in unit price drives the continuous growth of China's raw material drug exports." According to customs data, Cao Gang, director of the Western Medicine Department of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medical and Health Products, analyzed that in 2022, raw material drug exports amounted to 51.786 billion US dollars, accounting for more than 80% of Western medicine products, an increase of 24.04% year-on-year; The export volume of raw materials was 11.9398 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 8.74%; The average unit price of exports increased by 35.79% year-on-year, maintaining a stable growth trend.

Among them, the export growth rate of non epidemic raw materials such as digestive drugs was 7.3%, the export growth rate of amino acids, cardiovascular drugs, and anesthesia drugs were all around 20%, and the export growth rate of central nervous system drugs exceeded 60%. The exports of hormones, antipyretics, and analgesics, which are directly related to epidemic prevention, increased by 12.47% and 22.12% respectively, while the exports of respiratory system and hormone products except for penicillin, cephalosporins, and macrolides decreased. India and the United States remain among the top two markets for Chinese raw material drug exports, with exports to them increasing by 7.54% and 8.74% year-on-year, respectively.

The import volume of raw materials has decreased and prices have increased. According to customs data, in 2022, the import of raw materials reached 9.711 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 5.26%; The import volume was 1.2388 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 9.73%. Cao Gang believes that this trend indicates the upgrading of China's raw material pharmaceutical industry, and the increasing demand for high-end raw material pharmaceutical imports from downstream formulation research and production. At the same time, it also considers factors such as the increase in raw material, transportation, and supporting costs due to the impact of the epidemic.

According to customs data, in 2022, the export volume and price of Chinese Western medicine preparations increased simultaneously, achieving a total export of 6.605 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 9.95%; The export volume increased by 8.57% year-on-year; The average export price increased by 1.57% year-on-year. Among them, except for a slight decrease in the export of vitamin drugs, all other categories maintained a year-on-year growth trend, such as hormone drugs and penicillin drugs, with an export growth rate exceeding 20%. The United States and France are the top two markets for China's export of Western medicine preparations, with year-on-year growth of 18.01% and 75.83% respectively. During the same period, the import of Western medicine formulations reached 22.834 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 4.14%. Except for anti infective drugs, the import of various Western medicine preparations has decreased.

Cao Gang pointed out that "China's exports of Western medicine preparations to Africa, ASEAN, and Latin America account for 11.13%, 8.28%, and 8.26% of the total export shares, respectively, and all show a year-on-year growth trend, indicating that China's Western medicine preparation enterprises are accelerating their internationalization pace and the demand for Western medicine preparations in emerging markets is further expanding. He also pointed out that China's exports to regulated markets are still mainly produced or commissioned by foreign enterprises in China. The growth in exports of Western pharmaceutical preparations to developed countries such as the United States and France last year does not necessarily mean that the Chinese pharmaceutical industry has fully entered the global leading position.

Customs data shows that in terms of biochemical drugs, the export of biochemical drugs in 2022 reached 5.921 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 70.32%. Among them, the export of protein products reached 1.083 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 19.49%; The export of human vaccines reached $993 million, a year-on-year decrease of 93.66%. The top two markets for the export of biochemical drugs from mainland China in 2022 are the United States and Hong Kong, with a year-on-year decrease of 6.3% and an increase of 8.14%, respectively; Exports to Indonesia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates, the top three biochemical drug markets in 2021, decreased by 91.58%, 96.13%, and 90.81% year-on-year, respectively. This is basically consistent with the overall decline in exports of human vaccines. During the same period, China's import of biochemical drugs reached 17.884 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 77.78%. Among them, the import of human vaccines reached 3.935 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.24% year-on-year. Ireland, relying on its advantages in technological research and development innovation and market commercial transformation, has been consistently ranked as the largest source of import for biochemical drugs in China for many years.