Swedish exports of medical and pharmaceutical products have increased dramatically in China where the ageing population has created a prospective market for the healthcare products, SMP reported.
The quality and price of the Swedish medical and pharmaceutical are high, so, China becoming an increasingly important market for Swedish healthcare companies. According to the National Board of Trade, healthcare Swedish export has increased from 5.4 billion kronor in 2013 to just under 10 billion kronor in 2017. But the most important that it might just be the start of industry booming in China because the exports in the first quarter of 2018 were almost doubles (93 percent higher) than the same period last year.
David Hallgren, trade commissioner for China at Business Sweden, said that such an explosive growth is driven by two things. One is the demographic change, the second growth factor is that China is currently expanding its welfare system. The ageing population in China and abolition of China’s one-child policy promise the booming to the healthcare industry of Sweden, say the experts.
In addition to large Swedish companies such as Getinge, Mölnlycke and Astra Zeneca, around 30 smaller companies have begun to establish themselves in the Chinese market. The Swedish firms sell everything from pharmaceuticals to electric wheelchairs and healthcare-related software. Swedish companies, however, often find that breaking into that market is a complicated process.
“It may take several years for a company to get a product approved for the Chinese market,”
Hallgren said.
“China is an organizationally difficult market, but the authorities are always working to simplify it. Once you get a product approved it is also a long process to find partners. But generally, Swedish products have a relatively good reputation [in China].”
