Mexico doubles its imports of oxygen concentrators

Mexico imported oxygen concentrators, a crucial device at a certain stage for Covid-19 patients, worth 259.6 million dollars from January to November 2020, a year-on-year increase of 103.1%, according to statistics from the Ministry of Economy.

These products are devices designed to concentrate oxygen from ambient air and deliver the concentrated oxygen, typically through an attached nasal cannula (or tips), to a patient requiring oxygen therapy. They differ from the oxygen plant in that they deliver oxygen directly to patients according to their specific needs.

In the first 11 months of 2020, Mexican imports of oxygen concentrators came mainly from the United States (90.2 million dollars), China (61.5 million), New Zealand (16.8 million), the Dominican Republic (13 million) and Germany ( 10.5 million).

Mexico’s economy contracted 9.6% in the first nine months of 2020, reflecting the effects of the pandemic on the economy in general and including, in particular, an increase in unemployment and underemployment and lower consumer demand in the short term.

Until this Tuesday, in Mexico there have been 1 million 788,905 accumulated confirmed cases and 152,016 deaths caused by the new coronavirus, being one of the most affected nations.

Mexico ranked as the world’s 15th importer of oxygen concentrators in 2019 and, at the same time, as the seventh exporter of these products. In the accumulated to November 2020, its external sales totaled 446.3 million dollars, for which it obtained a surplus of 186.7 million.

Oxygen concentrators

The United States (the world’s largest importer) was the main destination for Mexican exports of oxygen concentrators, with 392.6 million dollars, followed by the United Kingdom (45.8 million) and Germany (3.1 million).

The statistics also include ozone or aerosol therapy devices, and other respiratory therapy devices.

Inogen Company estimates that approximately 3 million patients in the United States used long-term oxygen therapy in 2018, based on traditional Medicare fee-for-service data from 2018, data from commercial payers, and the company’s own estimate of the size of Additional patient populations, such as Retail Sales and Veterans Administration Population.

While there is no single up-to-date source for long-term oxygen therapy market data, this market size estimate is based on recent analysis that Inogen conducted with the help of a third party and certain internal estimates.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the world’s governments have adopted a series of protective measures to slow the progression of the virus and prevent the collapse of the health system.

There is currently a shortage of oxygen concentrators in Mexico, due to the high demand driven by the growing positive cases of Covid-19.

Overall, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the global economy, disrupted consumer spending and global supply chains, and created significant volatility and disruption in financial markets.