China witnessed a growth in medical device import & export trade in 2011. On February 7, 2012, the latest statistics of China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products showed that: in 2011, China's medical device imports and exports totaled $ 26.598 billion, an increase of 54.43% over the previous year. Exports amounted to $ 15.711 billion, an increase of 53.62%; imports amounted to $ 10.887 billion, an increase of 55.62%.
In 2011, China's exports of medical devices substantially increased, the exports of five products categories increased by more than 40%, which encompass: diagnostic and treatment devices, health care and rehabilitation products, disposable consumables, medical dressings and dental equipment and materials. Among them, the exports of diagnostic and treatment equipment ranked first with $ 6.75 billion, accounting for 42.96% of 2011 China's total exports of medical devices (see Table 1, 2).
Major areas of the 2011 exports of medical devices were still in Asia, Europe and North America, whose share of total exports were 31.1%, 28.3% and 26.74%, respectively. China has exported medical device products to 219 countries and regions, and the exports of the top ten countries and regions amounted to $ 9.57 billion, accounting for 60.91% of the total exports. The exports to the top three traditional export markets in the United States, Japan and Germany grow steadily, in addition, the exports to the emerging markets such as Russia, India and the Philippines also grow significantly with year on year growth of 74.16%, 69.51% and 122.96% respectively(see Table 3).
Table 1. Product structure of China's 2011 exports of medical devices | |||||
Order |
Product Name |
Exports (100 million U.S. dollars) |
Exports growth year on year (%) |
Proportion of exports (%) |
|
1 A |
Diagnosis & treatment equipment |
67.5 |
48.97 |
42.96 |
|
2 2 |
Health Care and Rehabilitation Products |
33.84 |
40.05 |
21.54 |
|
3 3 |
Disposable consumables |
26.59 |
50.31 |
16.93 |
|
4 4 |
Medical Dressings |
24.62 |
101.56 |
15.67 |
|
5 5 |
Dental Equipment and Materials |
4.35 |
57.6 |
2.9 |
|
Total |
157.11 |
53.62 |
100 |
||
Table 2. China's 2011 exports of specific products of medical devices | |||||
Order |
Product Name |
Customs Code |
Exports (100 million U.S. dollars) |
Exports growth year on year (%) |
Proportion of exports (%) |
1 |
Cotton wool, gauze, bandages |
3005901000 |
8.69 |
36 |
5.7 |
2 |
Catheter, intubation products |
9018390000 |
7.76 |
24.82 |
4.94 |
3 |
Syringes |
9018310000 |
4.05 |
21.96 |
2.58 |
4 |
Color ultrasound diagnostic apparatus |
9018129100 |
3.65 |
33.42 |
2.32 |
5 |
Blood pressure measuring instruments and apparatus |
9018902000 |
3.31 |
-20.63 |
2.11 |
6 |
X-ray tomography apparatus |
9022120000 |
3.27 |
21.62 |
2.08 |
7 |
Patient monitors |
9018193000 |
3.01 |
14.5 |
1.92 |
8 |
Non-mechanical driven vehicles for the disabled |
8713100000 |
2.99 |
22.29 |
1.91 |
9 |
Hearing aids |
9021400000 |
2.91 |
19.2 |
1.85 |
10 |
X-ray contrast agent |
3006300000 |
2.78 |
-2.71 |
1.77 |
Table 3. 2011 top ten markets of China's exports of medical devices | |||||
Order |
Countries and regions |
Exports (100 million U.S. dollars) |
Exports growth year on year (%) |
Proportion of exports (%) |
|
1 |
United States |
39.97 |
46.64 |
25.44 |
|
2 |
Japan |
14.69 |
36.03 |
9.35 |
|
3 |
Germany |
10.46 |
72.53 |
6.66 |
|
4 |
Hong Kong, China |
7.3 |
42.1 |
4.64 |
|
5 |
Britain |
5.23 |
43.29 |
3.33 |
|
6 |
Netherlands |
4 |
41.75 |
2.55 |
|
7 |
Russia |
3.85 |
74.16 |
2.45 |
|
8 |
France |
3.66 |
66.98 |
2.33 |
|
9 |
Australia |
3.29 |
68.8 |
2.09 |
|
10 |
India |
3.25 |
69.51 |
2.07 |
|
Total |
95.7 |
60.91 |
(Source: Chinese Pharmaceutical News 2012-02-15)