Pipes and medical articles in China

Thanks to Chinese government investments in the construction and infrastructure sector, included in its twelfth five-year plan, demand for plastic pipes is set to rise from the present 10 million tons to 13.2 million by the end of 2015. In 2011, production was up by 20% on the previous year, but in the next three years the growth rate is expected to stabilise at under 10%.
These data, however, have to be considered in the light of the Chinese market's now well-established excess production capacity, which has already reached 15 million tons and makes China the world's number one producer of plastic pipes. This situation is creating fierce competition, on the price front, between companies operating in this sector, and many small concerns have been absorbed by larger companies. However, the quality of the products in many cases continues to be low and the trade associations are engaged in awareness-raising initiatives aimed precisely at improving the quality of products, especially those designed for specific uses, such as the transporting of gas.
The demand for medical products and equipment is on the increase, too, thanks to major governmental programmes (worth over 20 billion dollars over the past three years) designed to improve the level of medical care in the population (in 2003, only 30% of the Chinese population had access to medical care, whereas the proportion is now 95%). Therefore, significant investments are planned in order to increase production of medical products.