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Great potential for Indian pharma in Gulf:
FICCI |
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Indo-Asian News Service |
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A leading Indian
industry body sees great potential in pharma
exports to the Gulf with countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
depending on imports for 80 per cent of their domestic requirements. Of "There is a considerable
scope for increasing our exports of drugs and pharmaceutical products to GCC
countries namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates
and Sultanate of Oman," the report states. "There is an
urgent need to conduct product specific surveys in GCC markets for exports of
drugs and pharmaceutical products. Further, buyer-seller meets in the select
GCC countries in the above sector should be organised." Based on responses
from 215 representatives of leading pharmaceutical manufacturers in India and
those registered in the six GCC countries, the FICCI study found an
overwhelming keenness to tap the Middle East market. |
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Almost 90 per cent of
the respondents surveyed revealed their interest in expanding exports to the
emerging GCC markets. The survey included members of the Indian
Pharmaceuticals Alliance and the Pesticides Manufacturers Association. The GCC countries are Indian pharmaceutical
companies, which have strategically positioned themselves as global players,
are, however, yet to fully tap the GCC potential, the report states. It highlights the fact
that the drugs and pharmaceuticals industry in GCC countries is currently at
a nascent stage with domestic production being far below
potential. "Despite recent
(GCC) governments' efforts to bolster the domestic pharmaceutical industry,
only 20 per cent of pharmaceutical products is manufactured domestically and
remaining 80 per cent is imported," the study points out. |
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To surmount hurdles
like the registration process, the study favours Indian companies setting up
joint ventures in GCC countries. It adds that the
annual increase of about one million people in the GCC countries, which have
seen their population grow by nearly nine million over the past decade to
reach around 31 million at the end of 2000, holds tremendous potential for
the healthcare sector. "The GCC
countries have initiated measures for economic liberalisation and offer a
large market as well as opportunities for Indian investors and stakeholders
in the healthcare sector." Some of the problems
identified by Indian companies are the lack of quality agents/distributors,
unavailability of information, financial risks, inadequate overall market
information and price controls. Another major hurdle
is the tough registration process in GCC countries. A few Indian companies
have already registered their products with the ministries of health in these
countries, while some are in the process doing so. On the Indian front,
the FICCI study says shortcomings in the price regulation and the patent regime are among the problems that need to be tackled. |
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