Pharmaceutical Exports to Surpass $10 Billion Next Year... Health Industry Exports Expected to Rise 5.4%

Export Value of $25.5 Billion This Year → Projected $26.9 Billion Next Year
Demand Decreases for COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments, Increases for Biopharmaceuticals and Cosmetics

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Amid the surge in exports of domestic health industry products such as vaccines and diagnostic products due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is forecasted that exports this year will be similar to last year's $25.5 billion, and will increase to $26.9 billion next year.

According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute on the 7th, exports of domestic health industry products including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cosmetics are expected to reach $22.5 billion this year, a 0.3% increase compared to the previous year.

Driven by increased demand for COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostic products in the first half of the year, export value recorded the highest half-year performance ever. However, with the full-scale transition to endemic in the second half, exports of vaccines and diagnostic products sharply declined, resulting in a cumulative export value of $20.84 billion by the end of October, a 1.3% increase compared to the same period last year.

The institute projected that by the end of the year, exports of biopharmaceuticals (biosimilars) and vaccines will increase by 23.9% compared to the previous year, while medical devices and cosmetics will decrease by 7.3% and 10.1%, respectively.

Exports in the health industry next year are expected to continue growing, increasing by 5.4% to $26.9 billion compared to this year. By detailed industry, pharmaceutical exports are expected to increase by 15.5% to $10.1 billion, cosmetics by 6.7% to $8.8 billion, and medical devices are forecasted to decrease by 6.2% to $8.0 billion.

Diagnostic products, which saw export growth during the global pandemic, are turning to a decline in exports, while exports of antimicrobial biologics such as biosimilars and toxins are expected to continuously increase, accounting for a market share of 23.8% (based on mid-level classification).

In particular, pharmaceutical exports are expected to surpass $10 billion for the first time ever as a single item category, increasing by 15.5% compared to the previous year to reach $10.1 billion.

Exports of vaccines and therapeutics, which surged since the end of last year, are expected to gradually decrease, but the steady demand for biopharmaceuticals (biosimilars) is expected to offset this, leading to stable growth.

Additionally, exports of existing key items such as ultrasound imaging diagnostic devices, implants, and radiographic equipment, which had slowed after COVID-19, are rapidly recovering and are expected to exceed pre-COVID export volumes. On the other hand, as global demand for COVID-related products decreases, exports of domestic diagnostic reagents are expected to gradually decline.

Cosmetics exports are expected to increase by 6.7% compared to the previous year to $8.8 billion, marking a shift from 'export decline' in 2022 to 'export growth' in 2023. Han Dong-woo, head of the Health Industry Innovation Planning Division at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, said, "Exports in the health industry in 2023 are expected to achieve $26.9 billion, a 5.4% increase from the previous year, with steady growth in pharmaceutical exports and a positive turnaround in cosmetics exports."

Kim Young-ok, acting president of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, stated, "Since COVID-19, our health industry has demonstrated growth potential such as rapid export increases, but it may be more sensitive to external shocks such as recently weakened economic conditions, global supply chain instability, high export dependence on the U.S. and China, and strengthened protectionist policies by major trading partners. We will prepare support measures for the industry through continuous collection of opinions on export difficulties, provision of import-export information in the health industry, overseas perception surveys on the health industry, and analysis of the impact of supply chain restructuring."

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