Sons And Daughters Of BBCMF China / Asia Technology

[asia]

China News: Medical product export up 30%

In 2005, China exported medical products worth 13.8 billion U.S. dollars, up 28.1 percent over the previous year, and imported medical products totaling 11.84 billion U.S. dollars, up 18.5 percent, the Ministry of Commerce reports.

China exported 12.97 billion dollars worth of western medicine, which accounted for 94 percent of its total medicine export over the year, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the export volume of raw-material western medicine made up 57.3 percent of China's medicine export, reaching 7.9 billion dollars, and that of medical equipment made up 26.7 percent, reaching 3.68 billion dollars.

China's export of biochemical medicine leaped 50.8 percent to 480 million dollars over the year, the fastest growth among all kinds of western medicine export.

In 2005, the country also exported Chinese medicine worth 830 million dollars, including plant extracts of 290 million dollars, up 31.2 percent year-on-year, statistics show.