Vietnam maintains double-digit growth in pharmaceutical imports

While pharmaceutical import has maintained a two-digit increase for many consecutive years, the imports of pharmaceutical raw materials have slightly decreased, data from the General Department of Customs showed.

Most of Vietnam’s pharmaceutical supply markets are European countries. France and Germany are the two largest markets with turnovers of USD342 million and USD316 million, respectively, accounting for over 23% of the total. It’s noteworthy that imports from India, Vietnam’s third largest suppliers, grew exponentially to 40 times the volume of the same period in 2016.

Insufficient resources to invent new drugs and the limited number of businesses with technology meeting the high standards of the EU’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) or Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) are the main cause of the sharp increase in pharmaceutical imports in recent years, according to a report by market research firm Business Monitor International (BMI).

With limited manufacturing capability, Vietnam has to import 55% of drugs it needs every year. In 2016, Vietnam imported USD2.5 billion worth of drugs, data from BMI showed.

In 2017, domestic sales were expected to reach USD5.2 billion, an increase of about 10% over a year earlier, and expected to maintain a double-digit growth over the next five years, according to BMI.

Imports of pharmaceutical products increased from USD2.035 million in 2014 to USD2.32 billion in 2015 and USD2.563 billion in 2016. Vietnamese pharmaceutical market is showing a positive growth with estimated revenues of USD5.2 billion last year, up 10%, and is forecast to achieve double-digit growth over the next five years./.