The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) is organizing a Healthcare Trade Mission to travel to Moscow and St. Petersburg June 3-7, 2013. The mission will be led by a senior Department of Commerce official and will focus on the growth in Russia’s healthcare market. The plan is to introduce healthcare exporters and associations to key Russians interested in exploring business opportunities with U.S businesses.
Russia has instituted a comprehensive reform of their healthcare system and healthcare is a top priority in the government’s new projects. It is estimated that only 20 percent of the Russian population of 142 million have access to quality healthcare. The majority of hospitals and clinics are public and belong to federal, regional, or local governments.
The Russian medical equipment and supply market is one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy. Contributing to the interest in the Russian medical equipment market is the unsatisfied deferred demand for equipment. Almost two thirds of the medical equipment and devices used in public clinics and hospitals are obsolete and need to be replaced and as facilities are modernized, new medical equipment is required.
The Russian market is among the 20 fastest growing markets in the world but the annual per capita spending is very low at $23. Industry experts predict that the market will grow at a rate of 5.5 percent per year, reaching $4.3 billion by 2014 or $31 per capita.
It is reported that imported medical devices constitute 60 percent of the Russian market. The data shows that 40 to 50 percent of imports come from Germany, 20 to 25 percent from the U.S., 10 percent from Japan, and 5 percent each from Italy and France. By the end of 2020, the percent of medical equipment manufactured by Russian producers should increase from 18 to 20 percent to 40 percent. This goal will be largely achieved by foreign companies who localize their production facilities.
However, today the Russian market is still dependent on imports for a significant number of medical equipment industry sub-sectors especially those requiring large investments in R&D, innovative technologies, and automation.
The best prospects for medical equipment include CTs, blood pressure instruments and equipment, respirators, endoscopes, ultrasound scanning equipment, syringes, catheters, dental disposables, ophthalmological equipment, and x-ray equipment for general medicine, surgery, and veterinary use.
According to “Healthcare through 2020”, a document developed by the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development” (www.minzdravsoc.ru/eng) in the future, Russian citizens will receive high quality medical care standardized throughout all of the country, new effective medical procedures will be introduced, and new medical equipment is going to be supplied to medical institutions. As a result, the medical equipment market should show the best results by 2013-2016 and reach $15 billion by 2020.
The deadline to apply for the trade mission to Russia is March 15, 2013. For more information and for the mission application, go to http://export.gov/trademissions/russiahealthcare2013. For other details, email Jessica Arnold at russiahealthcare2013@trade.gov.
