API Import & Export Volumes Increased in 2015

Export

China exported 7.32 million tons of APIs in 2015, up 4.44% YoY. But the average price was down 5.12%, and the total value dropped slightly, by 0.91%, to US$25.62 billion.
Exporters enjoyed a double-digit growth of export values for some APIs: leukomycin, lincomycin and sulfonamide. The export value of macrolide APIs was up 5.32% YoY. China’s export trade in large-volume APIs was extraordinary. Export values of special APIs used to treat the central nervous system, digestive system and cardiovascular system all saw double-digit growth, and their total export value reached US$262 million. Export values of other large-volume APIs such as vitamins, amino acids, hormones and penicillin dropped to different extents.
Asia remained China’s biggest export market for APIs, taking 3.87 million tons in 2015, worth US$11.96 billion; that was 52.85% of the year’s export volume and 46.67% of the value. Europe received 1.49 million tons, worth US$7.27 billion; 20.32% of the export volume and 28.36% of the value. North America was the destination for 678.5 kt, worth US$3.41 billion; 9.27% of the export volume and 13.31% of the value. Latin America bought 774.6 kt for US$2.08 billion; 10.58% of the export volume and 8.12% of the value. The main varieties sent to Asia and Latin America were low-added-value APIs and intermediates. Europe and North America mainly bought APIs with high added value and high quality.
China exported APIs to 196 countries and regions in 2015. The value exported to India was US$4.09 billion, down 3.1% YoY. The value of APIs exported to the United States also declined, by 2.85% to US$3.18 billion. The value exported to Thailand grew drastically, by 10.65%. The value exported to Korea grew 8.41%.
In 2015, China hosted 9 805 enterprises exporting APIs, up 187 YoY. Private enterprises have always been prominent in China’s export of APIs; they exported US$14.4 billion of APIs in 2015, 56% of the national total and 1.46% higher than in the previous year, while state-owned enterprises exported 9.51% less than in the previous year.

Import

China imported 2.16 million tons of APIs in 2015, up 4.22% YoY, and worth US$8.55 billion, a slight increase of 0.08%. The average import price was down 3.97%. The demand for APIs such as amino acids and hormones and varieties used in cardiovascular systems was quite brisk in China in 2015.
In 2015, China’s main sources of imported APIs were Europe (41.07% by value, up YoY) and Asia (34.3%, down YoY); the import values were respectively US$4.37 billion and US$2.93 billion. The volume from Europe was down 12.16%. The volume from Asia was up 8.04%.
The number of enterprises importing APIs to China increased by 198 in 2015, reaching 6 284.
China’s export of APIs is expected to decline in 2016 due to excess capacity, weak foreign demand and increasing cost pressures. As the aging of China’s population becomes more prominent, consumer demand for medicines will increase steadily.