According to data released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday, growing sanitation and hygiene awareness in the country saw the overall production of medication and other medical supplies jump 4.9 percent, reaching over 1.9 trillion won, while mosquito sprays and insecticides worth 87.4 billion won were produced last year alone. (Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Jul. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Fears over a number of infectious diseases including the Zika virus that swept across South Korea last year saw production of mosquito sprays and insecticides jump nearly 36 percent.
According to data released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday, growing sanitation and hygiene awareness in the country saw the overall production of medication and other medical supplies jump 4.9 percent, reaching over 1.9 trillion won, while mosquito sprays and insecticides worth 87.4 billion won were produced last year alone.
Production of antiseptics and disinfectants also jumped 55 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year, while pesticides and rodenticides increased 18.9 percent.
In the meantime, last year’s production of disinfectants for external use, such as hand sanitizers, dropped over 40 percent compared to 2015 when the MERS virus sent the country into a panic and saw sales of antiseptics reach nearly 34 billion won.
The South Korean medicine market reported a trade surplus of over 171 billion won, up 36.5 percent, while the size of the market grew 2.6 percent.
When broken down by country, South Korea exported 33 percent of medicines to China, the biggest importer of South Korean medical products, followed by Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
Fears over a number of infectious diseases including the Zika virus that swept across South Korea last year saw production of mosquito sprays and insecticides jump nearly 36 percent. (Image: Yonhap)
When it came to actual output, AmorePacific, Dong-A Pharmaceutic, and LG Household & Health Care topped the list last year among South Korean pharmaceutical manufacturers.
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
