Guangdong medical imports double
20/5/2003 16:33
Medical apparatus imports in South China's Guangdong Province doubled to
US$65 million in the first four months compared with the corresponding period a
year before, today's Sina.com reported, citing Guangdong Customs
data.
With an average growth rate of 50 percent each month, imports in
April jumped 65 percent to a peak US$19.6 million.
Most of the imports
are from Japan, the European Union, the United States and other areas with
advanced medical systems.
Imports of X-ray equipment more than doubled in
the period and that of medical conduits more than tripled, the report
said.
At Guangdong's Guangzhou port alone, 319 respirators were imported
from January to April, with a total value of US$1 million. The two figures are
56 percent and 83 percent up over the same period last year.
The Sina
report attributed the import growth to rising demand for medical equipment due
to SARS.
With the disease gradually coming under control, demand is
falling and import growth has begun to slow.
But the report predicted
that imports would remain strong as SARS has raised Chinese people's awareness
of health care and enhanced their demand for advanced medical
equipment.
Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news
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