More than 40 million COVID tests were imported into 5 South American countries during the first half of 2022

The amount of COVID test imports fell -35.7% compared to the first half of the previous year, back when 63.1 million units had entered.

Since 2020 when the COVID 19 pandemic was declared, the Coronavirus has not let up with the arrival of new variants that have infected and claimed the lives of millions of people around the world. With regard to the health crisis, the health sector has experienced an unusual activity in the market with increases in imports of equipment and supplies, as an example of it there are the tests to detect the virus.

In one of its most recent reports, CVN – Centro Virtual de Negocios (Virtual Business Center), a data specialist firm that performs market intelligence, revealed that in the first half of 2022 Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru totaled 40.6 million of COVID tests, valued at USD$89.8 million, a figure that fell 63.7% compared to the same period in 2021 when USD$247.3 million were reached.

Altogether, during the first three semesters of the three years of the pandemic, these countries have imported around 157.5 million tests for USD$601.2 million CIF, it should be noted that 2021 was the year in which the greatest number of units were required, although the highest merchandise value was reported in 2020. This is how, over time, the average value of this kind of test has been decreasing, starting from USD$4.92 in 2020 to practically half its value USD$2.21, as shown in the following table:

Antigen tests, the most imported type of COVID tests between January and June of 2022

In its reports, CVN provides classification data on the of imported tests taking into account the following 6 types of tests:

Which country imported the most COVID tests in South America?

Out of the territories that are part of the analysis, the ranking by imported units is led by Argentina, followed by Chile and Colombia, thus:

Argentina: entered 19.3 million tests, a 47.6% of the total imported for USD$42.3 million CIF, 47.2% from the total value of imports. The largest number of tests that arrived in Argentinian territory were antigen (90%), Antibody (6.9%), Molecular (3%), antigen and Influenza (0.01%).
Chile: acquired close to 8 million tests (19.6%), valued at USD$11.4 million (12.7%), the southern country imported Antigen Test (96.8%), Molecular (1.8%), Antibody (1.4%) and Antigen and Influenza (0.04%).
Colombia: purchased a little less than 5 million tests (12.2%) equivalent to USD$11.3 million CIF (12.6%). The imported categories were Antigen (66.4%), Molecular (30.2%), Antibody (2.6%), Dual Molecular (COVID-Flu) (0.7%) and Neutralizing Antibody (0.02%).
Ecuador: imported 4.2 million tests (10.4%) valued at USD$17 million CIF (19%), amount corresponding to the Antigen (72.5%), Molecular (17.7%), Molecular Dual categories (Covid-Flu) (5.4%), Antibody (2.3%), Antigen and Influenza (2.1%) and Neutralizing Antibody (0.01%), category.
Perú: closes the ranking with 4.1 million tests (10.1%) imported, with a value of USD$7.7 million CIF, an amount associated with three categories: Antigen (89.1%), Molecular (9.9% ) and Antibody (1.1%).

Where do the COVID tests imported by the 5 South American countries come from?

By reviewing the origin by quantity, it can be established that the largest provider of these tests is South Korea with 18.8 million tests, valued at USD$47.6 million CIF. Other countries in the ranking are detailed below:

Who are the COVID test manufacturers that arrived in these countries between January and June 2022?

Ten manufacturing companies account for 84.6% of the total number of COVID test units that arrived in the territories analyzed, this ranking is detailed below:

Which companies lead the import of COVID tests in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile?

The importers’ list includes more than 200 companies, however, the first 10 companies add up to 69.8% of the amount imported, and it goes as follows:

For more detailed information access on this market, including figures on importers, suppliers, countries of origin, variations and other data on supply and prices, CVN – Virtual Business Center has the data for you to perform the market intelligence. You can contact us through the following information sources: