“Over the last two years we have seen exports of Australian complementary medicines grow 36%,” said Carl Gibson, chief executive of Complementary Medicines Australia, about the figures from AusTrade, Australia’s trade commission for exports.
“South Korea has now overtaken New Zealand as our top export market. Over half the countries in the top ten list of exports are in the Asian region, and there is continued healthy demand for Australian products.
“This demand for Australian complementary medicines by Asian consumers can be attributed to several factors, including our industry’s reputation for quality products.
“It is coupled with the demographic changes in the Asian region, such as ageing populations, and a rapidly developing middle class that embraces complementary medicines.”
It has been projected that by 2030, there could be close to 3.2 billion middle-class consumers in the Asia-Pacific region. A large demand is expected in the areas of health and aged care, natural preventive care and high-quality food products.
The regulation of complementary health products in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration as medicines has meant that Australian exports are among the most strictly regulated in the world, Gibson said.
“On the eve of the Vitafoods Asia trade show, the outlook for the Australian complementary medicines industry is very healthy,” he added.
“Our industry holds great potential to continue to grow exponentially, to contribute further to our exports and the strength of high-skilled local manufacturing, and to leverage our strong international branding for excellence.”