China's exports of API products in 2019

Exports hit a new high
In 2019, China's export volume of APIs reached the threshold of 10 million tons, reaching 10.1185 million tons. The year-on-year growth was 8.83%, and the average export price was up 3% year-on-year. The export volume and the price of achievements have both risen well.

From the perspective of subdivided categories, most of the bulk drug exports have achieved varying degrees of growth. The export value of anti-infective APIs doubled year-on-year, and the exports of anti-virus and anti-tuberculosis products included therein have increased significantly. The export volume of hormonal APIs increased substantially by 78% year-on-year, mainly driven by an increase of 76% in the export volume. Among them, the export value of estrogen and progestin products increased by 200%. Antipyretic and analgesic, amino acid, tetracycline, cephalosporin, lincomycin and other bulk APIs have continued their export growth momentum for two years. In 2019, they all achieved a year-on-year increase of more than 8% in exports. Paracetamol, ibuprofen, ceftriaxone and other major varieties have increased in export value. The export of bulk APIs such as vitamins, penicillins, macrolides, and chloramphenicol showed negative growth of varying magnitudes, mainly due to the decline in export prices. Among them, the export prices of major vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin B1 all fell after experiencing a sharp increase in the previous year. Amoxicillin trihydrate, 6-APA and other major penicillin varieties have also decreased in value. In 2019, China's anti-cancer drug exports reached nearly 100 million US dollars.

The market remains stable
In 2019, China's APIs were exported to 189 countries and regions. The main exports are concentrated in the three major markets of Asia, Europe, and North America, which together account for 89% of China's total exports of APIs.

Exports 54.461 million tons of APIs to the Asian market, with a value of 15.917 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 15.56%. The volume and amount accounted for about 1.5 percentage points higher than the previous year. India, as China's largest exporter of bulk drugs, 70% of its bulk drugs come from China, with a higher proportion of intermediates. Although the Indian government has vigorously supported "Made in India" in recent years, and India has begun to build API parks, and many Indian pharmaceutical companies have also developed upstream, but it is still difficult to reduce dependence on Chinese APIs in the short term. In 2019, India imported 809,700 tons of China's raw material medicines, an increase of 22.56% year-on-year, and the value of goods was 5.653 billion US dollars, an increase of 25.53% year-on-year. In my export of APIs to the Asian market, it accounts for more than 1/3. However, the raw materials imported by India from China are mainly low value-added raw materials and pharmaceutical intermediates, such as anti-infectives, penicillins, cephalosporins, hormones, etc. Japan has always been in the position of exploring the list of countries that export raw materials to China. The bilateral cooperation in raw material trade has grown steadily, which is related to the fact that the government has been vigorously promoting generic drugs and the cooperation between Chinese and Japanese companies is generally stable. In 2019, I exported 476,400 tons of APIs to Japan, a year-on-year increase of 3.03% and a value of US $ 2.059 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.24%. The main varieties exported to Japan include both traditional bulk APIs such as vitamins, Amino Acids, Antibiotics, etc., as well as specialty APIs such as sartans, puli, and statins. More than 90% of ASEAN's APIs are satisfied by imports, so it is also my main market for API exports in Asia. In 2019, China imported US $ 3.305 billion of APIs, a year-on-year increase of 9.99%. Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand are the main export destinations of our API in ASEAN. Antipyretic Analgesics, anti-infectives, vitamins and other low-cost traditional APIs are the main categories of APIs exported to ASEAN.

In 2019, China exported 2.0763 million tons of raw materials to Europe, with a value of 9.461 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 14.1%. The quantity and amount accounted for 20.52% and 28.09% of our API exports, respectively, and the proportion remained basically stable. Among them, exports to the EU reached 8.281 billion US dollars, an increase of 12.36% year-on-year. Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain all rank in the top ten of the list of destination countries for API exports. The bulk medicines I export to the EU are mainly anti-infectives, amino acids, vitamins, and tetracyclines.

Affected by the Sino-US trade friction, in 2019, I exported 787,900 tons of APIs to North America, with a value of US $ 4.518 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 0.37%. The quantity and amount accounted for 7.79% and 13.41% of China's API exports, respectively, which accounted for about 1.5 percentage points less than the previous year. Among them, the United States, the country with the second largest export destination of China's APIs, imported US $ 4.215 billion of APIs throughout the year, a year-on-year decrease of 1.23%. I exported 665,400 tons of APIs, a decrease of 10.99% year-on-year, and the average export price increased by 10.96% year-on-year. This shows that after the United States imposed tariffs on most of my commodities exported to the United States, although the United States realized that Chinese APIs were less replaceable in the US market, there were very few APIs included in the tax increase list. However, trade friction still inevitably has a negative impact on Sino-US API trade.

The number of companies has increased
In 2019, a total of 12,462 companies in China were engaged in the export of APIs, an increase of 1,056 over the same period of the previous year. The number of business entrepreneurs has maintained growth for six consecutive years, and almost all of them are private enterprises. Private enterprises, as the main force in the export of raw materials in China, have always maintained a strong export vitality. In 2019, the total export value of raw materials reached 22.434 billion US dollars, an increase of 15.97% year-on-year, and the proportion rose to 67%. The export volume of raw materials of state-owned enterprises reversed the trend of continuous decline in recent years. In 2019, the export volume was 3.827 billion US dollars, but the year-on-year increase was only 6.12%. As a result, the proportion continued to shrink to 11%.

China's top ten exporters of bulk drug exports totaled 2.952 billion US dollars, accounting for 8.76%. There are 43 companies with an export value of over US $ 100 million, and the cumulative export value accounts for 21.82%. Due to the increasing number of companies engaged in the export of APIs, and the increasingly fierce competition in the international market, the proportion of the above two items has declined from 2018, and the concentration of China's API exports is still low. The export performance of leading export enterprises such as Sinopharm Group, Puluo Pharmaceutical, Livzon Group, Huahai Pharmaceutical, Zhejiang Chemical Industry, Jiuzhou Pharmaceutical, etc. increased significantly.