RIYADH, 29 September — There is good market potential for medical products and services in the Kingdom, a survey conducted by the China External Trade Development Council (CETRA) has revealed.
This was disclosed to Arab News by Ben Chen, leader of the 23-member multi-sectoral trade mission from Taiwan on the occasion of the ROC trade exhibition that opened at Hyatt Regency Riyadh yesterday. The exhibition, the second this year, is being held in the capital following an encouraging response in Jeddah last week, the organizers said.
Chen, who is also the general manager of a company that manufactures medical equipment, said the findings revealed that with medical insurance becoming mandatory by the end of this year there would be a big surge in the Saudi healthcare sector.
"Thus the response that we received in Jeddah during our exhibition was in line with our expectations." The demand was mainly for medical supplies, laboratory and surgical equipment.
He pointed out that while most of the trade enquiries related to the healthcare sector, there were not many for computer hardware and accessories.
The lukewarm response, according to market analysts, is due to the sluggish growth of the computer market, which has been affected by the impact of Sept. 11 events.
Speaking on behalf of Taipei Economic & Cultural Representative Office, Ambassador Wang Wei-Cieh said bilateral trade with the Kingdom was expected to recover after sliding in the aftermath of Sept.11. Bilateral trade stood at around the same level during the last two years ($ 3.1 billion and $3.09 billion respectively).
However, Wang anticipated a turnaround during the third and fourth quarters of this year.
According to him, Saudi-ROC trade relations have been going through a shift away from labor-intensive products, such as textiles, shoes, foodstuff and other low-quality goods to high-technology computer and electronic items. "It is no longer possible for us to compete with the manufacturers of labor-intensive products from India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka," added. (JH)
