China’s 2022 Western Medicine Trade Analysis: Growth and Challenges

The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products (CCCMHPIE) has released its “Brief Analysis of and Prospects for China’s Foreign Trade of Western Medicines in 2022.” The report covers the import and export of raw materials, western pharmaceutical preparations, and biochemical drugs, providing a comprehensive overview of the year’s trade activities.

Overall Trade Volumes
The total import and export volume of western medicine products, including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), western medicine preparations, and biochemical drugs, reached USD 114.73 billion in 2022, marking a 3.55% year-on-year (YOY) increase. Exports amounted to USD 64.311 billion, down 5.01% YOY, while imports rose to USD 50.428 billion, up 16.99% YOY. The export trade surplus was USD 13.883 billion, a slight decrease from 2021. Quarterly data showed that China’s exports of western medicine products increased by 24.60% and 11.79% YOY in Q1 and Q2, respectively, but declined in the second half, with Q4 volumes falling by 27.42% YOY.

APIs: Export and Import Trends
In 2022, the export volume of APIs was USD 51.786 billion, accounting for over 80% of western drugs, with a YOY increase of 24.04%. Non-anti-epidemic raw materials such as digestive drugs saw a 7.3% growth rate, while amino acid, cardiovascular, and anesthetic exports grew by about 20%. Central nervous system drug exports increased by more than 60%. Categories directly related to COVID-19 prevention, such as hormones, antipyretics, and analgesics, saw growth rates of 12.47% and 22.12%, respectively. However, the export of respiratory system and hormone drugs other than penicillins, cephalosporins, and macrolides decreased. India and the United States remained the top two markets for China’s API exports, with YOY increases of 7.54% and 8.74%, respectively.

API imports experienced a “volume and price inversion.” In 2022, the import volume of APIs was USD 9.711 billion, up 5.26% YOY, while the total import volume was 1.238 million tons, down 9.73% YOY. This trend indicates that China’s API industry is upgrading, with downstream preparations moving towards higher quality and standards. Ireland and India were the top two markets for API imports, with YOY increases of 20.24% and 9.74%, respectively.

Western Medicines: Export and Import Dynamics
China’s export volume of western pharmaceutical preparations was USD 6.605 billion in 2022, up 9.95% YOY, with an 8.57% increase in export volume and a 1.57% increase in average export price. The US and France were the top two markets for western pharmaceutical preparations, with YOY increases of 18.01% and 75.83%, respectively.

In terms of imports, China’s import of western medicine preparations was USD 22.834 billion, down 4.14% YOY. Germany and France were the top two markets, with a YOY decrease of 7.14% and an increase of 4.49%, respectively. Notably, China’s exports of western medicine preparations to Africa, ASEAN, and Latin America accounted for 11.13%, 8.28%, and 8.26% of the global market share, respectively, all showing YOY growth. This indicates a significant transformation and upgrading effect in China’s western medicine preparation industry, with accelerating enterprise internationalization and expanding demand from overseas emerging markets. However, despite increased exports to developed countries like the US and France, China’s pharmaceutical industry is not yet among the world’s top players, as products for standardized markets are still primarily produced or commissioned by foreign enterprises in China.

Biochemical Medicines: Export and Import Trends
The export value of biochemical drugs was USD 5.921 billion in 2022, down 70.32% YOY. Heparin was the mainstay, with an export value of USD 1.569 billion, accounting for 26.5%, and a YOY decrease of 1.8%. The export value of human vaccines was USD 993 million, down 93.66% YOY, while the export value of enzymes and coenzyme products was USD 819 million, down 5.53% YOY. The export value of protein products was USD 1.083 billion, up 19.49% YOY. In 2021, driven by soaring export demand for COVID-19 vaccines, the main export markets were in Southeast Asia and Latin America. In 2022, the top two export markets for China’s biochemical drugs were the US and Hong Kong, with a YOY decrease of 6.3% and an increase of 8.14%, respectively.

In terms of imports, China’s import of biochemical drugs was worth USD 17.88 billion in 2022, up 77.78% YOY. The import of human vaccines was USD 3.935 billion, up 11.24% YOY. Ireland was the largest market for China’s biochemical drugs, followed by the US and Germany.

Industry Outlook
Although China’s pharmaceutical industry has made significant progress in innovation and development, it still lags behind the world’s first-tier markets. For vaccines, excluding the soaring export of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, China’s import and export of human vaccines have maintained a trade deficit for many years. The trade deficit in 2022 was USD 2.942 billion, an increase of USD 1.437 billion compared with 2019 before the COVID outbreak.-Fineline Info & Tech