HOSPITALAR 2009
The Brazilian healthcare fair beats new records: 86,000 professional visits and US$ 2,5 billion in business deals

HOSPITALAR 2009, held from June 2nd to 5th in São Paulo (Brazil), closed its 16th edition with results that put the Brazilian healthcare sector in the opposite direction of the crisis.

The fair presented new records in number of visitors, exhibitors and sales results: in four days, HOSPITALAR received 86,000 professional visits from more than 60 countries, representing 10% of growth over the 2008 edition. The amount of deals and business set by exhibitors reached US$ 2.5 billion, also meaning a growth of 7%.

HOSPITALAR 2009 - 16th International Fair of Products, Equipment, Services and Technology for Hospitals, Laboratories, Pharmacies, Health Clinics and Medical Offices convened 1,200 exhibiting companies, from 32 countries. It was the largest edition of the fair, in 82,000 square meters of exhibition, with the most important worldwide products, equipment and services for hospitals, health clinics and medical offices.

Confirmed as the leader healthcare fair and forum in Latin America, HOSPITALAR is the great indicator for the Brazilian healthcare market, sector which has a turnover of US$ 121 billion a year in Brazil and represents some 8% of the country’s GDP.

The presence of the Brazilian Health Minister, José Gomes Temporão, and all representative organizations of the health sector, is another indicator of the big prestige that HOSPITALAR achieved not only in the health sector but also in the economics and politics field.

Waleska Santos, M.D., founder and president of the fair, highlighted that this edition’s success was determined by many positive facts: the size of the fair has increased in 20%; the number of visits has grown significantly and the public was clearly more qualified. But the crucial issue was the Brazilian health market heating up, based on the significant raise in investments that hospitals and industries have had, aiming to expand and qualify their services. "In spite of the retraction in the global economy, especially in the U.S. and in Europe, the healthcare market in Brazil shows a positive performance, both in public and private sectors", said Waleska Santos.

Some numbers encouraged the exhibitors: the Brazilian imports of medical products and equipment (not including pharmaceuticals) grew 33% from 2007 to 2008, going from US$ 2.7 billion to US$ 3.6 billion. The Brazilian companies also registered growth in sales. The companies associated to ABIMO – Brazilian Association of the Medical-Dental Industry registered US$ 3.2 billion in sales in 2008, 5% over 2007. “The major Brazilian hospitals have not reduced investments in expansion, improvement and update of their facilities, thus keeping the market in motion”, complements Dr. Santos.

Another fact that influenced the fair performance was its accomplishment in the recently launched Expo Center Norte, which now offers a lot more exhibiting space, a new and modern entry hall, 21 new auditoriums, air-conditioning in all facilities, new food court and parking lot, besides many other services for exhibitors and visitors. The "new look" of HOSPITALAR 2009 and the excellent circulation logistics and location pleased exhibitors and visitors.

Business deals have grown
An example of a good sales performance of HOSPITALAR 2009 was the International Business Roundtable, an event carried out by the Brazilian Association of the Medical-Dental Industry (ABIMO) in partnership with APEX Brazil. According to ABIMO’s data, the roundtable has generated US$ 6.7 million in sales this year, surpassing in 40% the initial estimative. 565 business meetings were held between 52 Brazilian companies and buyers from 12 countries.

HOSPITALAR traditionally influences over 25% of the annual sales turnover of the medical-hospital industry. Companies usually program their launches for this date and exhibitors have reported positive results.

FANEM, a company that exports neonatology products to over 90 countries, registered deals of US$ 1 billion in immediate sales and aim to achieve US$ 2.2 million in the next few months. SEGMENTA, specialized in parenteral solutions, sanitizing products and antiseptics, registered up to 1,500 clients a day in its booth and hopes that sales grow up to 30% because of the fair.
WHITE MARTINS, the largest supplier of industrial and medicinal gases in Latin America, said that the company had a growth of 20% in business set during the event. BIONEXO, Latin American electronic business community to hospitals, celebrates a rise of 40% in deals set during the fair.

International companies also stated their satisfaction with the visitors’ buying power, the quality of the contacts and business made. GE Healthcare, for example, announced investments of US$ 50 millions in Brazil. The company started to build in the Estate of Minas Gerais its first Latin America X-ray and mammography equipment factory.

International attendance
Completely globalized, with exhibitors from 32 countries, HOSPITALAR once more acted as a special showcase for the healthcare market worldwide. Over 400 foreign exhibitors participated in this edition, representing the following countries: South Africa, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay and USA.

Such diversity of products and services attracted 2,980 buyers from over 60 countries. The presence of international buyers at HOSPITALAR grows every year. The 2009 edition registered 7% more buyers than the 2008 edition and 27% more international visitors than the 2007’s. Latin-American buyers were the majority among international visitors, reaffirming the HOSPITALAR influence all over this continent. The countries with bigger number of visitors were Argentina, Peru, Chile, USA, Colombia, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela and Mexico. But the fair also attracted buyers from several markets such as United Arab Emirates, Angola, Canada, Germany, India, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar among others.

The HOSPITALAR constant growing internationalization in the past years is the result of a well defined strategy: lots of promotion abroad, strategic alliances with important partners in the health sector (such as the International Hospital Federation-IHF and Messe Düsseldorf, the organizer of the MEDICA fair) and a great relationship with organizations that support companies which seek international location.

Katherine Shibata, international trade manager of Hospitalar, says that “Brazil and Latin America are the focus for exports of many countries now, especially in this nowadays scenario. We’ve been watching groups like England, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland bringing not only the same companies but also increasing the interest of new ones. New markets are their bet for sales recovery”. She also states that “individual companies have also being returning year after year, investing in the local marketing. This means that the good results have been a constant for them. We also see and increase on qualified products and equipment, bringing to this part of the globe a larger competition and better technology, thus attracting more buyers with this same profile. In the end, it is not only Latin America which gets better quality in healthcare but more important, it is final consumer who wins”.

New date in 2010
The 17th edition of HOSPITALAR is already set and has a slight change of date: the fair will take place from May 25th to May 28th 2010, at Expo Center Norte, in São Paulo. The date change aims to adjust the fair with the market conditions and avoid overlappingd with the FIFA World Cup 2010 that will be hosted by South Africa.