In the international economic and trade environment where global trade protectionism is prevalent, the ASEAN market, which has consistently adhered to the elimination of trade barriers, has unexpectedly grown up against the trend and has become an important force in the recovery of the world economy.

Since the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area for one year, 98% of medical tariffs have been reduced to zero, triggering an alarming growth in China's exports of ASEAN medical insurance products. According to the statistical data of the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products (hereinafter referred to as the Medical Insurance Association), since the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement on January 1, 2010, China's total exports of medical insurance products to ASEAN totaled 2.68 million tons, and the export value reached 3.58 billion. Dollars.

“Asean countries are currently increasing investment in health care, and drug spending is increasing. ASEAN's top six pharmaceutical markets are approximately US$13 billion and are growing at an average annual rate of more than 10%.” Guo Xiaodan, Medical Pharmacy Chamber of Pharmacy The reporter pointed out that due to factors such as increasing population, rapid political and economic growth, changes in traditional lifestyles, and increasing medical awareness, ASEAN's pharmaceutical market has shown rapid growth, and its import demand for pharmaceutical products is also constantly increasing.

The second largest export market

"As ASEAN's pharmaceutical market grows in size, ASEAN has become China's second largest market for medical insurance products, second only to the United States." Guo Xiaodan said that China is the largest importer of pharmaceuticals in ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. During the 10 years from 2002 to 2011, the growth of the pharmaceutical trade between China and ASEAN has increased by nearly 40%, showing a steady increase in the total amount, the price continues to rise, the total volume keeps increasing, and the market is relatively concentrated.

From the point of view of export product structure, China's exports to ASEAN are mainly raw material medicines, and glutamic acid, citric acid, vitamins, paracetamol, and antibiotics are the main export varieties; at the same time, China’s western medicine preparation products also have a faster export growth to ASEAN. The main varieties are other dosed drugs, hormone products, vitamin products, artemisinin, penicillin, and cephalosporin drugs; the export of traditional Chinese medicines is less in ASEAN, and the extracts, Chinese herbal medicines and decoction pieces are the main products. The export of medical device products to ASEAN is mainly used as a disposable medical consumable for medical supplies, syringes, catheters, etc., as well as medical accessories such as gauze and bandages, massage aids, and hearing aids, and other low-end medical equipment.

At present, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other countries in ASEAN countries are still strict on the access management of Chinese medicine products, and the export of Chinese medicine products to these countries must pass rigorous testing standards, as well as clinical and non-clinical drug trials. The cost of China's pharmaceutical foreign trade companies. However, it is gratifying to note that at present, as countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines impose zero tax rates on 99% of China's medical device goods, they have created good opportunities for the development of China's medical device export trade.

Excluding the treatment of the above two types of products, the Western medicine category still occupies a high degree of market concentration in the ASEAN export market, which is approximately 61.4%.

From the 2010 customs statistics, western medicine products still firmly control the first place in China's exports of medical insurance products to ASEAN, accounting for 58.54%, and the total export value is 2.094 billion US dollars.

Rely on "Made in China"

In the ASEAN pharmaceutical market, 90% of APIs rely on imports, and the demand for quality and cheap generics is also increasing. After China and ASEAN signed a free trade agreement, their dependence on "Made in China" is higher.

After the completion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, China’s average tariff on ASEAN will be reduced from the previous 9.8% to 0.1%, while the average tariffs on Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand for the six old ASEAN countries will be From 12.8% to 0.6%. Benefiting from the completion of the free trade zone and the resulting reduction in tariffs, China’s trade volume with ASEAN increased rapidly, with Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam growing significantly in recent years.

"As Thailand's largest pharmaceutical market, the per capita drug expenditure is about 55 US dollars. This country is also the fastest growing ASEAN country for the import of western medicine products in China." Guo Xiaodan introduced that Thailand began to implement the medical insurance plan in 2001 from 2010. Since the beginning, Thailand has implemented free medical care for children under the age of 6 and the number of children receiving medical services has thus greatly increased. This has led to a surge in demand for medicines.

A few days ago, the Medical Insurance Association learned from the Thai Ministry of Health that the Ministry of Health has submitted a new plan to expand the medical coverage to the Cabinet. The plan aims to increase per capita medical subsidies. It is expected that from 2011, Thailand’s future per capita medical subsidies will be Raised to 67.8 US dollars, by 2013, Thailand's health care spending will increase to 16.1 billion US dollars, accounting for 4.1% of its GDP. “This will also be a major driving factor for the export of medical insurance products from Thailand to Thailand,” Guo Xiaodan said.

According to statistics, in 2010, China’s export product structure to Thailand was dominated by Western medicine and medical device products, of which Western medicine exports reached US$378 million, an increase of 24.31% year-on-year, and medical device exports reached US$59 million. The year-on-year increase was 26.06%.

In addition, as the second largest pharmaceutical market in ASEAN, Indonesia is currently the country with the largest number of Western medicine products imported from China. According to Guo Xiaodan, 90% of the more than 1,300 kinds of APIs required in the Indonesian market rely on imports. The main importers are China and India. At the same time, the per capita drug expenditure in Indonesia is approximately US$ 12.5, which is dominated by generic drugs and OTC drugs. As there are fewer patented drugs on the Indonesian market, the share of generic drugs is still expanding, accounting for 70% to 80% of the total pharmaceutical market. In order to encourage the use of generic drugs, the Indonesian government provides subsidies for local manufacturers to encourage the import of raw materials needed for the production of essential drugs. This is undoubtedly a good signal for the continued high market concentration of "Made in China" in the Indonesian market.

From 2002 to 2011, the growth of pharmaceutical trade between China and ASEAN climbed by nearly 40%, showing a steady increase in total volume, continued price increase, total volume growth, and a relatively concentrated market.