Pharma Majors, Govt To Chalk Out Plan On Export Growth.

Thirty top pharmaceutical exporters that account for almost half of India’s drug exports worth $10 billion (about Rs 45,000 crore) will meet commerce ministry representatives to formulate a growth plan for the sector. Key to the discussion will be the increasing challenge posed by China in the drugs and pharmaceutical segment.

Dr Reddys, Ranbaxy, Cipla, Lupin, Cadilla are among the shortlisted firms, it is learnt.

The meeting, scheduled in Mumbai on Friday (June 10), is meant to chalk out ways to help the industry achieve 150 per cent growth in pharma exports to $25 billion in three years, a target set by the ministry as part of its overall strategy to double India’s export revenues during the period. P V Appaji, executive director, Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), said the leading exporters had been chosen after considering their performance in six different export regions as each region pose unique market challenges.

The commerce ministry’s strategy paper on doubling export revenues talks about a two pronged approach to penetrate the drug export markets. It wants to maintain and where possible enhance market share in regions where India’s presence is already robust such as North America, Africa and the European Union (EU).

The ministry wants to identify countries within the EU and Africa where the rate of growth and market share have been substantially low for renewed focus. Mexico and Brazil are the Latin American countries having a huge export potential.

Terming India’s low export penetration into China as extremely embarrassing, the ministry said India had gone down from a position of meeting 70 per cent of its bulk drug requirement from indigenous production to just 30 to 40 per cent, with the rest coming from China. The ministry had highlighted the need for critical policy interventions to bring back bulk drug manufacturing to India and to increase India’s presence in China in the formulation sector.

The ministry wants specific strategies to increase the volume of medicine exports to Japan. The exporters are expected to provide insight into the ground level issues in each of these territories to formulate better strategies.

According to Appaji, one of the major demands from pharmaceutical exports is the extension of the Duty Entitled Passbook scheme beyond June 30, 2011, till an alternative is worked out between the government and the stakeholders.

Providing financial incentives to exporters is another suggestion. “China is giving $75 million as support to promote the bulk drug industry in that country. As a result, even foreign multinationals are setting up huge production facilities there. We need to think on similar lines if our export advantage should be retained,” Appaji said.

Source : Sify.com