Malaysia: Upbeat on Medical Device & TPPA



The export revenue of the medical device industry is expected to increase by double-digit percentage in 2016, in tandem with the projected growth of the Asean medical device market, which is expected to double to RM8bil by 2017 from RM4bil this year.

Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) chief executive officer Datuk Dzulkifli Mahmud said that in 2015, the export revenue growth of the medical device market was expected to be around 15%. “From January to November 2015, the export of medical devices increased by 13.6% to RM14.1bil from RM13.5bil in 2014."

“Some 52% of the revenue came from the glove industry, while the non-glove segment contributed to the remainder. “The export of non-glove medical devices for the first 11 months of 2015 increased 16.6% to RM6.79bil."

“The products exported were medical instruments (RM1.5bil), disposable tubes for intravenous devices (RM1.4bil), and orthopaedic appliances (RM917mil)."

“The main export destinations for Malaysian medical device players include the United States, Germany, Japan, and Singapore,” he said.

Dzulkifli said the medical device industry was exploring for new markets in Turkey and Chile.

“Malaysia has signed 14 free trade agreements and the most recent one was with Turkey. In 2014, Turkey imported RM9.5bil and exported RM1.6bil worth of medical devices. Malaysia medical device export to Turkey in 2014 was valued at RM3.5bil.”
According to Dzulkifli, the Trans-Pacific Pact Agreement (TPPA) will expose the local medical device industry to a market size of over 800 million people.

“A TPPA market like Canada imports RM23.5bil of medical devices and exports RM7.2bil of medical devices,” he added.

Dzulkifli said the medical device in Asia Pacific is valued at around RM69.9bil in 2013, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 9%.

Meanwhile, the Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) supports the TPPA to provide wider access for ‘Made-in-Malaysia’ medical devices into TPPA countries, especially the US with whom Malaysia has no trade agreement.

/theSTAR 22-01-2016


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