State of the 2017 Medical Device Market in Brazil

Despite economic downturn in recent years, Brazil is definitely showing signs of a comeback. After one of the deepest recessions in the country’s history, Brazil has rebounded with two consecutive quarters of growth. Its GDP is up 0.2 percent from a quarter ago and 0.3 percent from a year ago. It’s also had a spike in sales in several consumer areas during the first half of 2017.

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And according to the extensive data tabulated by ShareScope—the market size/share service developed for LatAm medical device brands by Global Health Intelligence—one major area of growth is in the medical device and equipment market. Brazil is certainly a growth market in this area, and the numbers are beginning to reflect this. Here’s a closer look at how Brazil’s medical equipment and device market is surging in 2017.

Imported Medical Equipment Value into Brazil

ShareScope import data analysis indicates that the total value of medical equipment and devices imported into Brazil in 2017 will be more than US$3.1 billion, a 15% increase compared to 2016, when the value of medical equipment imported into Brazil actually went down by 14%.

In fact, 2017 snaps a downward trend in the value of medical equipment imported into Brazil: Since 2015 — when Brazil’s economic downturn hit hardest — the value dropped in double digits each year. The current adjusted growth rate (CAGR) for the value of medical equipment imported into Brazil is -10% since 2014. Though clearly we’re seeing a strong uptick in 2017.

Quantities of Imported Medical Equipment into Brazil

According to ShareScope, Brazil is forecast to import more than 4.6 billion units of medical equipment and devices in 2017. On the surface, it may seem like a high figure, but this is because it factors in not only capital equipment like MRI machines and CT scanners but also smaller pieces like syringes, stents, parts and other smaller instruments that are ordered in mass quantities. In fact, Brazil’s import numbers for medical supplies in 2017 are actually smaller than those of other countries in Latin America due to the fact that Brazil has a significant domestic industry of medical device/equipment production.

That said, 2017 was still a very strong year: a 43% forecasted increase in the quantities of medical device imports into Brazil compared to 2016 that snapped a downward trend of decreases in previous years, when the quantity of medical devices/equipment imported into Brazil went down — the drop was 23% in 2015 and 3% in 2016.

As such, the overall CAGR for the quantity of medical device/equipment imports into Brazil was 6% between 2014 and 2017, suggesting that despite some bad years, Latin America’s largest market is picking up well.

Hot Growth Areas with Brazil’s Medical Device/Equipment Market in 2017

Based on ShareScope analysis of 2017 numbers regarding imports, among the growth areas with strong sales potential in Brazil are:

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• Electrocardiograph machines, MRI machines, scintigraphic equipment imported into Brazil in 2017: 21% forecasted growth in value and 43% forecasted growth in quantity
• Massage equipment, oxygen therapy equipment and other respiration equipment imported into Brazil in 2017: 22% forecasted growth in value
• X-ray machines, CT scanners and other radiography equipment imported into Brazil in 2017: 12% forecasted growth in value and 204% growth in quantity
• Thermometers and pyrometers imported into Brazil in 2017: 12% forecasted growth in value

Outpacing the Region

But perhaps the best news for Brazil is how it stacks up against the rest of Latin America. ShareScope forecasts a 5% overall decrease in the Latin America medical device and equipment market for 2017 (in import value). Brazil, on the other hand, is forecasted to post a 15% gain in the value of the medical devices it will import in 2017—as well as a 43% increase in the quantity of medical devices it will import in 2017.

Taking Advantage of the Growth

To really understand what’s happening with Brazil, medical device and equipment managers need to take advantage of GHI’s healthcare market intelligence services, such as:

• #1 HospiScope: Subscribing to GHI’s hospitals database allows you to see base equipment levels for specific hospitals in Brazil, so you can see which hospitals have stronger needs.
• #2 In-Scope: Through In-Scope, GHI can drill down to specifics regarding these import numbers to help your company know the exact quantities of equipment types were imported, rather than just an overall amount for a given category. This way, you can have a true picture of the growth areas and the sales opportunities.
• #3 ShareScope: You can gain an even more detailed understanding of the market with our market share/size analysis. This tells you which companies have the highest market share for a category in Brazil. Coupled with custom research showing amounts of imported medical equipment types in your area of interest, this can help you further identify opportunities and challenges so as to plan more strategically.
• #4 Competitive Intelligence: Beyond drilling down to really understand where Brazil’s medical device/equipment growth is happening, you can engage GHI for competitive intelligence to understand what your competition is up to so you can edge them out more effectively in a given sector or in all sectors. We can uncover data on pricing, strategies and more to help you checkmate the competition.

NEXT STEPS

Contact GHI today to explore further how our services can help you take advantage of Brazil’s surge. Also, please see our state of the medical equipment/device market portraits for Mexico, Colombia and Peru to understand the trends in those markets as well.

 

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