The Thai government announced its National Health career will invest 1.45 trillion baht in 2011, Thailand is expected in the coming years will further increase the foreign-made medical products imports. At present, Thailand has become Southeast Asia\\ s largest medical device market. In this regard, China\\ s medical device companies should take the initiative to vigorously develop the market.
Dependence on imported high-end products
Thailand\\ s domestic production of medical products mainly condoms, disposable medical gloves, syringes, surgical sutures, endoscopy, dialysis, plaster, bandages, cotton wool and other health materials. In addition to these products for their own hospitals, but some of the products for export, exports accounted for 90% of its total output, most of these products exported Southeast Asian neighbors.
However, exports of medical products structure, Thailand, the local medical device industry of Japan and Korea and other East Asian countries than in the relatively backward. Therefore, Thailand needs large quantities of medical equipment imports. U.S., Japan, Thailand, China and Germany as the four major medical products importer. Thailand, which imports about U.S. medical device market, 29%, Japan 17%, Chinese 15%, 14% in Germany, other countries and regions in the world exports of medical equipment to Thailand together accounted for 25% of the market.
In 2010, Thailand\\ s medical device market medical equipment in Southeast Asia accounts for about 23% of the total market; imported medical products like surgical instruments mainly, dental materials and dental surgical instruments, diagnostic imaging, spectrum analyzer, implantable devices, artificial blood vessels and heart valves, artificial bones and joints and so on. Medical products imported from the catalog can be seen, the technological level of the hospital in Thailand and equipment have almost the same with the Western developed countries.
Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis since the devaluation of the baht against the U.S. dollar too fast, so the majority of multinational medical device manufacturers choose to Thailand local reputable dealer consignment mode of operation of its products. Medical Association of Thailand about 490 member companies in 80 for the medical device manufacturer, the rest are vendors. According to statistics, Bangkok, about 30 to 40 large-scale foreign medical equipment dealers.
Annual growth rate of the highest in Southeast Asia
U.S. Department of Commerce released a survey report that since 2006, Thailand\\ s medical device market up 24% annual growth for most countries in Southeast Asia. Basically, the medical device market in Thailand relies heavily on imported products, domestic products less than 10% of its market. Thailand\\ s imports of medical equipment product orders from public hospitals, 60%, 40% from private hospitals and nursing homes.
Thailand needs a great number of imported medical products as follows: general surgery, surgical instruments, diagnostic imaging devices, imports about $ 329 million; various X spectrometer (Siemens products produced high-resolution spectrometer based X), imports approximately $ 142 million; orthopedic devices, implantable devices and heart valve products, imports of about $ 139 million; dental instruments and dental materials, and imports of about $ 68.8 million; various rehabilitation equipment products, imports approximately $ 57.2 million. Total imports of about $ 726 million, compared to Thailand, the local production of medical products worth only 70 million – $ 80 million.
From the U.S. Commerce Department documents can be seen, medical products imported from Thailand in addition to high-resolution X spectrometer, vascular stents, heart valves and other individual species being less competitive than China, which are about 90% of the strength of our country have involved in the product, especially rehabilitation equipment classes and massage equipment products for the bulk export of China\\ s medical device products.
The Thai government had also announced that its national health industry will invest 1.45 trillion in 2011 baht. This is in Southeast Asia after Singapore, Malaysia and the level of per capita health costs are expected in the next few years, Thailand will further increase the foreign-made medical products imports. China\\ s medical device companies should seize this opportunity.