Imported API from China·India reaches 50%

In 2023, the total amount of API imports reached US$ 2.2 billion…China 35%·India 15%

API imports from India have increased by 6% in 5 years…China imports↓

It has been reported that half of the active ingredients (API) imported to South Korea are produced in China and India.

 

The percentage of imported active ingredients originating from China·India surpassed 50% in two consecutive years.

 

The percentage of imported API from India has robustly increased recently.

 

Indian API imports were below 10% in 2018, now expanded to 15.2% in five years.

 

In contrast, the percentage of Chinese API imports slightly dropped from 36.7% to 35.0%.

 

According to the 'Annual report of food and drug statistics for 2024' by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on January 11, domestically imported API in 2023 totaled US$ 2.199 billion.

 

Among these, API imports from China·India totaled US$ 1.1 billion.

 

Imports from China·India account for nearly 50.2% of the total imported API.

 

It indicates that half of domestically imported API is from China·India.

 

Analysis suggests that reliance on API produced in China·India has consistently increased.

 

The percentage of imported API from China·India surpassed 40% in 2017, rising to over 50% by 2022.

 

It recorded over 50% in two consecutive years until 2023.

 

The percentage of imported API from China·India: API imports from China and India surpassed 40% in 2017, rising to over 50% by 2022.

 

It recorded over 50% in two consecutive years until 2023.

 

(unit: %, source: Ministry of Food and Drug Saftey).

API imports from China have declined, while imports from India have risen.

 

Imported API from China in 2023 totaled US$ 769.76 million, a drop of 16.0% from US$ 916.87 million in 2022.

 

Imported API from India rose by 10.1% from US$ 303.30 million in 2022 to US$ 334.00 million in 2023.

 

Looking into the years before, imported API from India has shown an increasing trend for the past few years.

 

In 2018, imported API from India was US$ 195.56 million, an increase of 70.8% in five years.

 

The percentage of imported API from India was merely 9.5% in 2018, while it rose by 5.7% in five years to 15.2% in 2023.

 

Analysis suggests that as the decrease in imports from China has been compensated by API from India, South Korea has increasingly depended on APIs produced from both countries.

 

As of 2023, besides China·India, there are no imported API from other countries that account for more than 10%.

 

Japan ranks third in the amount of imported API in 2023, totaling US$ 198.85 million (9.0%).

 

Japan's share had sustained over 10% until 2022.

 

Followed by France US$ 170.66 million (7.8%), Italy US$ 123.59 million (5.6%), Germany US$ 120.81 million (5.5%), the U.S.

 

US$ 66.14 million (3.0%), Spain US$ 44.67 million (2.0%), Switzerland US$ 36.77 million (1.7%), and Belgium US$ 31.78 million (1.4%).