ISLAMABAD: According to The News, pharmaceutical manufacturers have issued a warning that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) refusal to issue letters of credit (LCs) could lead to a shortage of medicines because local banks are unable to issue the document required for the import of raw materials and medical devices due to a lack of dollar liquidity.
“Due to a lack of dollars in the country, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has verbally instructed all local banks not to open LCs for the import of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). After attending the meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Health, Arshad Mahmood, Chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), North Region, told newsmen, “We have the money to buy medicines’ raw material from abroad. However, the dollars liquidity crunch in the country may result in a shortage of medicines in Pakistan in the coming weeks and months.”
The majority of pharmaceutical companies are unable to place future orders for raw materials because they only have two months’ worth of it on hand. There may be a shortage of medicines like Panadol, which was unavailable in most of the country if LCs are not opened soon.
Arshad Mehmood added, “The Panadol shortage was due to the price issue. Now we are facing double jeopardy because, on the one hand, prices are not being increased and, on the other hand, raw material is not being imported because dollars are not available with the central bank.”
The lawmakers were informed by the North Region chairman of PPMA that Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry relies on imports and imports most of its ingredients.
According to Mahmood, as a result of rising fuel costs, transportation costs, and wages, the rupee’s devaluation, the cost of raw materials, and the cost of production were constantly rising.
The official from the PPMA went on to say that, in contrast to other industries, manufacturers and the state-controlled medicine prices could not raise them on their own. He added that the cost of producing some essential medicines has reached an unsustainable level for manufacturers, so they are no longer being manufactured and are not available on the local market.
Nisar Ahmed Cheema, the convener of the Standing Committee on Health in the National Assembly, asserted that pharmaceutical companies had agreed to provide public health facilities and hospitals in the country with medicines at a 50% discount, describing this as a significant relief for low-income patients.
He praised the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and its CEO, Asim Rauf, for providing Pakistani citizens with high-quality medicines. He also said that the government was looking into the issue of drug pricing policy and prices at the highest level, but that no decision would be made against the people’s interests.
Source: Geo.tv
