In 2023, China's import and export volume of pharmaceutical products to the African market was 4.268 billion US dollars, of which the export value was 4.16 billion US dollars, down 11.6% year on year, accounting for 4.08% of China's pharmaceutical exports. In terms of products, the export value of western medicine products was 2.111 billion US dollars, down 22.19% year-on-year. The export performance of medical equipment products was bright, with exports of 1.966 billion US dollars, an increase of 3.03%, and diagnostic and treatment equipment, medical consumables, health care and rehabilitation supplies had varying degrees of growth.
According to Global Customs data, in 2023, the value of pharmaceutical imports from the African market fell by 12%, and China is the largest source of imports, with its share rising from 15.6% in 2022 to 16.3% in 2023, 0.5 percentage points higher than the second India.
At present, Africa faces a multiple disease burden, including infectious diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, while chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes) are also increasing, and the demand for related imported medicines will continue to increase. In terms of drug imports, Indian generic drug companies show a strong international ability, accounting for 29.8% of Africa's drug imports, and the share from China is 6.8%, ranking sixth in the source countries of drug imports, and there is still a large room for growth in the future.
In terms of medical devices, the position of Chinese products was further consolidated, accounting for 25%, an increase of two percentage points over 2022, ahead of Germany (12%), the Netherlands (11.5%), France (10.7%), and the United States (6.4%). China exports a wide variety of medical devices to Africa, covering medical imaging equipment, surgical instruments, in vitro diagnostic equipment, rehabilitation AIDS and other fields, and the average price is generally lower than the average import price of similar products in Africa. The product quality and technical content of Chinese medical device products continue to improve, more and more Chinese medical device products are competitive in the international market, meeting the diversified needs of African countries in the field of healthcare, and the market share is expected to continue to increase.
China's classified statistics on African pharmaceutical imports and exports in 2023
Unit: hundreds of millions of dollars
Statistics of China's key pharmaceutical export markets to Africa in 2023
Amount unit: hundreds of millions of US dollars
China's key varieties and market statistics of African medicines in 2023
Amount unit: millions of US dollars