Taiwan's Q3 pharmaceutical exports up 6.2 percent

 Central News Agency 2011-11-19 Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) Exports from Taiwan's pharmaceutical sector for the third quarter of this year rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier to total NT$3.42 billion (US$113 million) on the back of rising demand for western medicines, a government report said Saturday. According to the report released by the Industry and Technology Intelligence Service (ITIS), exports of Taiwan-made western medicines in the three month period rose 11.0 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.72 billion. The ITIS is a research institute of the Department of Industrial Technology under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The report said exports of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from Taiwan rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier to reach NT$1.58 billion, while the island's exports of Chinese medicines rose 9.1 percent year-on-year to NT$120 million. Meanwhile, Taiwan's pharmaceutical imports during the July-September period rose 7.5 percent from a year earlier to NT$17.97 billion, the ITIS said. Imports of western medicines during the same period rose 7.2 percent from a year earlier to NT$16.53 billion and imports of APIs rose 10.9 percent to NT$1.43 billion, while imports of Chinese medicines fell 2.9 percent to NT$10 million, the report said. The ITIS said pharmaceutical exports will continue to grow no less than 10 percent for the whole of this year, while overseas sales of western medicines will enjoy the highest growth. For the entire year, the report estimated Taiwan's pharmaceutical exports would reach NT$13.19 billion, up 12.5 percent from a year earlier, while exports of western medicines and APIs are expected to rise 24.9 percent and 1.5 percent year-on-year to NT$6.63 billion and NT$6.61 billion, respectively. In terms of imports, the ITIS forecast the value for 2011 is expected to rise 4.3 percent from a year earlier to NT$68.51 billion. Imports of western medicines for 2011 are expected to grow 3.5 percent from a year earlier to NT$62.96 billion and API imports are likely to rise 6.6 percent to NT$5.51 billion, while imports of Chinese medicines may fall 42.2 percent to NT$40 million, the ITIS said.