| By Cindy Wu, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing News |
| Monday, 23 February 2009 |
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China’s exports of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) totaled US$14.9 billion for the first three quarters of 2008, according to statistics from China Customs. The country’s combined exports of APIs are expected to exceed US$18 billion during the year, once the fourth-quarter numbers are tabulated. The 2008 numbers are expected
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to be the highest for API exports from China so far for this decade. Bulk APIs remain China’s leading export items. As China’s exported APIs have a competitive edge in prices in international markets, the global financial crisis will induce foreign buyers to switch to China’s low-cost yet high-quality products.
Antibiotics
Production of legacy antibiotics products including tetracycline, terramycin, penicillin industrial salt, doxycycline and erythrocin has been either reduced or stopped altogether in foreign countries, providing stable markets for China’s export of these items. These antibiotics products are for the most part exported to Europe, the US, Africa and other Southeast Asian countries.
Penicillin industrial salt
The export volume of penicillin |
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industrial salt grew slightly year over
year in 2008, while the average export price hiked.
Exports stood at around 12,000 tons in 2008, and this year’s are expected to be higher. Due to rising foodstuff prices in international markets, leading penicillin industrial salt makers overseas will see soaring manufacturing costs, likely forcing them to raise the import volume of the item from China this year.
Tetracyclinet
Tetracycline has replaced penicillin industrial salt to become the best performing item in terms of export volume in China. The country’s exports of the item reached approximately 14,000 tons in 2008.
Cephalosporins
China’s exports of cephalosporins APIs amounted to approximately 500 tons in 2008, of which ceftriaxone sodium accounted for around 40 per cent. Given China’s competitive edges in labor and manufacturing costs, foreign antibiotics producers have established manufacturing facilities in the country. It is expected that China’s export volume of cephalosporins will exceed 1,000 tons soon, making the country the largest producer and exporter of cephalosporins APIs in Asia.
Antitumor antibiotics
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Currently, only two anti tumor
antibiotics made in China, namely adriamycin and epirubicin, are exported to foreign countries. Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical is the sole manufacturer and exporter of the two items in the country, with an annual production output of approximately 10 tons.
Vitamins
China’s exports of vitamin APIs had been estimated to reach 150,000 to 170,000 tons last year, despite the negative effects resulting from the financial crisis. While the US, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan are China’s major export destinations for the products, the export volume to other Southeast Asian countries has been on the rise in recent years.
Both China’s export volume and the average export price of most APIs increased during 2008. Looking ahead, the country’s export volume of APIs is expected to post substantial growth in 2009.
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