The raw material medicine industry awakens the export structure fine-tuning the contribution of emerging markets

Business agency April 26 After experiencing stagnation in the past two years, the API industry has regained its liveliness. From April 21 to April 23, more than 1,000 API manufacturers gathered in Chengdu 66th API. The endless flow of raw material drug companies and the presence of foreign customers from time to time made people really believe that the domestic raw material medicine industry has gone out of the shadow of the economic crisis and restored the previous boom.

Relevant statistics show that in 2010, the import and export of chemical raw materials in China reversed the decline since 2008. The import volume of chemical raw materials reached US$3.3 billion, an increase of 10% year-on-year; the total exports reached US$13.78 billion, an increase of 22.66% over the same period last year. In 2010, there were 26 companies that had exceeded US$100 million in raw material drug exports, an increase of about 30% year-on-year.

In the case of a good momentum of growth in the import and export of raw material drugs last year, in order to meet the needs of domestic exhibitors and overseas customers, this year's APIS has also set up an “Export and OEM Zone”.

The reporter found at the site of the raw material drug, antibiotics, vitamins, amino acids and other drugs that firmly occupy the top 3 in the raw material drug exports in China are still favored at the show, and some of the characteristics of raw material medicine also received more and more attention .

Emerging markets highlight outstanding contributions

China's raw material drugs have already gone out of the shadow of the economic crisis. The expansion of global generic drug market demand and industrial transfer have provided opportunities and space for China's raw material drugs to further expand the international market. In 2010, China's pharmaceutical import and export commodities totaled 28.2 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 22%. Among them, the total amount of drug exports reached 17.48 billion U.S. dollars, and the total export of chemical drug substances reached 13.78 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 22.66% year-on-year. The total export of chemical drug substances accounted for 79% of all drug exports.

“Through tracking data on China's raw material medicine exports in the past 12 years, the export of APIs experienced a rapid recovery in 2008 and 2009, and they quickly rebounded in 2010, and API exports have come out of the shadow of the economic crisis. The situation is being improved year by year due to factors such as price fluctuations, environmental protection reforms, changes in international trade, intellectual property rights, etc. But in the next few years, the raw material medicine industry will generally face rising raw material energy prices and rising costs, raw material prices in the past year or two. Rising is a big trend,” said an industry expert.

The relevant statistical data show that last year, China's bulk drug exports to developed countries and developing countries generally rose, the top five countries are the United States, India, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, developed countries still occupy a dominant position, India has become The second largest market for China's raw material medicine exports reached 2.276 billion U.S. dollars, and China's raw material drugs have become an important source of Indian pharmaceuticals.

In addition, China's raw material medicine exports to other BRIC countries, the Middle East, and emerging countries such as South America, the market grew more rapidly, Brazil, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico and other 10 emerging countries have entered the country's raw materials market Of the top 20 pharmaceutical exporters, the emerging trade region has become the most promising regional market.

With the increase in the international market for raw material medicines, in 2010, there were 26 companies exporting raw material medicines in China that exceeded US$100 million. In 2009, this figure was less than 20, of which Shenzhen Haipurui Pharmaceuticals had 548 million. The dollar’s ​​export ranks first. However, crude processing and basic bulk drugs have gradually withdrawn from Europe, and companies must go through high-end markets in Europe.

Export structure subtle changes

Specific to the species, among the export commodities, biochemicals such as antibiotics, vitamins, amino acids, and organic acids are still the major components of exports. Although the export dominance of low value-added products for bulk products has not changed much, due to the limitations of its development space, the export price of raw materials such as penicillin and vitamin C may decline, and the increase in glutamic acid is another major product. Speed ​​also enters a relatively quiet period.

Among the 22 varieties with a single species export of raw material intermediates above $100 million last year, heparin sodium ranks first in the total export volume of 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, zidovudine, potassium sorbate, and erythromycin thiocyanate. Exports of various varieties, such as doxycycline and azithromycin, exceeded US$100 million for the first time. Raw materials such as macrolides, sweeteners, antivirals, and perfumes have gradually become strong, while the traditional advantages of penicillin, terramycin, and meta-anaginazole continue to shift.

In the coming years, raw materials such as macrolide series, Peian series, and sweetener series will likely become high-grade varieties. At present, the total tonnage of macrolides exports is close to 4,000 tons. It is estimated that the domestic pharmaceutical macrolides should be around 8,000 tons, and the good market trends of these varieties will also attract active investors.

Some experts believe that the export structure of APIs has been quietly changing. Those large-scale basic APIs, even products that are likely to cause pollution or are high in energy consumption, will not be reintroduced. Some small-scale companies involved in competition may have In the domestic market is not large, but there are still varieties of space in the international market is worth examining.

“Green, low-carbon, and environmental protection are issues that must be addressed by all domestic raw material drug manufacturers.” Shen Xianji, deputy director of the Expert Committee of the China Chemical Pharmaceutical Industry Association pointed out: “In the process of industrial regional structural adjustment, we must strictly prevent chemical raw materials from being carried to the environment. In areas where capacity is weak, there is no doubt that raw material drug manufacturers will increase their investment in environmental protection, which will also create a more equitable competitive starting point for them. Only in this way will the export of Chinese pharmaceutical raw materials be more competitive. force."