EU's increase in imports of medical dressings in China is positive

Business News Agency July 13 The European Union is the largest export market for medical dressings in China. In 2010, the EU medical dressing import market reached 1.551 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 6.8% compared with 1.453 billion U.S. dollars in 2009; compared with the average annual growth rate of imports over 10% before 2009, The recovery has grown but it has not yet reached the level of growth before the financial crisis.

China is the second largest source of imported medical dressings in the European Union after the United States. In 2010, the EU's imports of US medical dressings were 522 million U.S. dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 1.5%; and the related import value to China was 462 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 18.14% compared with 391 million U.S. dollars in 2009, far higher. The overall growth rate of imports of medical dressings in the EU. The proportion of medical dressing products in China in the medical dressing import market in the EU has increased from 21.97% in 2006 to 29.79% in 2010 – an increase of nearly 8 percentage points in five years. The market share of US medical dressing products has been declining year by year, from 43.04% in 2006 to 33.66% in 2010. Affected by the financial crisis, the concept of consumption of the EU's citizens has changed and is more sensitive to product prices. According to this growth rate, in the next 1 to 2 years, China is expected to surpass the United States and become the largest source of imported medical dressings in the European Union.

EU imports of low-end medical dressings increase steadily

The European Union’s import demand for products such as cotton wool, gauze and bandage (Customs Code 300590) showed a steady increase. From 2006 to 2010, the average annual compound growth rate of imports of such products was 9.08%. In 2010, the relevant imports reached 666 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 42.94% of the total imports of medical dressings in the EU during the same period. The competitive advantages of this kind of products in China are obvious. In 2010, the share of the EU import market for cotton wool, gauze, and bandage products reached 52.94%, accounting for half of the country's total. In addition, China's first-aid kits and drug packages account for 85.41% of the EU's import market for similar products, which occupies an absolute advantage.

In the EU import market for aseptic surgical guts, kelp, hemostasis materials and adhesive dressings, the advantages of European and American products are more prominent, and the share of Chinese products is relatively small. However, during the five years from 2006 to 2010, the proportion of our adhesive tape products in the EU's import market for similar products increased by 10.43%. Therefore, in the future, China's products in this category are expected to win more market space in the EU. The market for aseptic surgical guts and kelp products is almost monopolized by the United States and Switzerland. The market share of these two countries totals 85%.

China's product prices and grades are not high

In recent years, the prices of medicinal cotton products have steadily increased, with an average annual growth rate of about 5%. Although China's pharmaceutical cotton products rank the first (26.75%) in the EU's import market for similar products, the average price is only 5,433.53 USD/ton, which is only one-sixth of the price of similar products in the United States.

The outbreak of influenza A H1N1 in 2009 drove up the price of gauze masks. In 2010, the price of EU gauze products showed an overall downward trend (down 4.17% year-on-year). This category of products in China has occupied 93.49% of the EU's import market for similar products. The price also has a strong dominant position.

The import prices of bandage products in the European Union have fallen year by year, with a year-on-year decrease of 18.49% in 2010. Although the average price of bandage products in China increased by 5.5% in 2010, it still has a considerable gap compared with countries such as Switzerland and the United States, and it is only half of the average EU import price.

In the EU market for other adhesive dressings, sterile surgical guts and kelp and other high-end dressing products, China has no competitive advantage in terms of market share or price.

Transforming innovation is the only choice

It should be noted that the EU is the second largest medical market in the world after the United States. The population of the 26 countries in the EU has reached more than 400 million, which has become the main driver of market growth, and the higher level of medical insurance has made the area more suitable for medical dressings. Demand for disposable medical supplies has remained stable. In recent years, the size of the EU medical dressing import market has continued to expand and its upward trend reflects this characteristic.

At present, Chinese enterprises mainly have certain competitiveness in the market of traditional dressing products such as cotton wool, gauze, and bandages. However, these products have low prices, small profit margins, and limited growth potential. However, in the market of high-end medical dressings such as high-price, high-profit margin adhesive dressings, sterile surgical guts and kemble-type medical dressings, China’s market share and price are still in its infancy. Under this situation, the transformation and innovation of enterprises will be the only choice for achieving the sustainable development of China's medical dressing industry and optimizing the export structure of products.