Health Industry Exports Reach $6.96 Billion in Q1 This Year... Second Highest Record Ever

Pharmaceuticals up 48.5%, Medical Devices up 9.1% YoY... Cosmetics down 16.5%

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Exports of health industry products in the first quarter of this year ranked second highest ever among quarterly records, driven by increased exports of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

According to the export performance data for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cosmetics in the first quarter of this year released on the 31st by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, health industry exports during this period amounted to $6.96 billion, a 9.7% increase compared to the same period last year. This is second only to the record set in the fourth quarter of last year ($7.08 billion).

Exports of both medical devices and pharmaceuticals increased. Medical device exports rose 9.1% year-on-year to $2.81 billion, while pharmaceutical exports increased by 48.5% to $2.3 billion.

This growth is attributed to the spread of COVID-19 variants, which expanded exports of diagnostic reagents and vaccines to countries such as the United States, Japan, and Australia. Among pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceutical exports increased by 34.1% compared to the same period last year, and vaccine exports surged by 811.9%. In particular, exports of domestically contract-manufactured vaccines to Australia have increased since the fourth quarter of last year, sustaining the upward trend.

On the other hand, cosmetics exports declined by 16.5% compared to the first quarter of last year, totaling $1.86 billion. The Development Institute diagnosed that the decline in exports is due to the lockdown of the Chinese market, the largest export market for cosmetics, caused by COVID-19, and the disruption of global supply chains. The product most affected by the Chinese market was basic cosmetics, which recorded $1.4 billion, down 22.7% from the same period last year.

Although exports of cosmetics to China decreased, exports to the United States and Canada, the world's largest markets, expanded, gradually reducing dependence on the Chinese market.

The product with the highest export value in the health industry was diagnostic reagents, accounting for 23.5% ($1.638 billion) of total exports.

Han Dong-woo, head of the Health Industry Planning Division at the Development Institute, stated, "With the prolonged Ukraine war and the lockdown of the Chinese market, external conditions have worsened, severely impacting global supply chains. While exports of pharmaceuticals and medical devices are performing well, the cosmetics industry has been hit hard, so it is a time when thorough preparation for trade risks is necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.