By Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan‘s (DRAP) Drug Availability Committee has suggested importing medical raw materials and equipment from China in its currency, Yuan, to ensure the availability of essential medicines amid the dollar liquidity crunch.
Asim Rauf, DRAP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) told leaders of the local pharmaceutical industry at a meeting in Karachi that, As the LCs problem is hampering the import of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) from India and China, the Drug Availability Committee of DRAP has come up with a solution import the medicines’ raw material from China in its currency Yuan to ensure availability of essential medicines in the country.”
Reported that pharmaceutical companies are facing issues in importing raw materials and finished biological products, hormones, cancer therapies, and other therapeutic products due to the dollar liquidity crunch as local banks refuse to open Letters of Credit (LCs) for imports from India and China, and some other nations.
Asim Rauf said that they were working on resolving the LCs problem for the local pharmaceutical plant on the PM Office’s directive, and proposed to the State Bank of Pakistan and finance ministry to look into the possibility of importing pharmaceutical ingredients using local Chinese currency, adding that around 55 percent of the medicines’ raw material already comes from China. Pharmaceutical products’ imports from China can further be increased and taken up to 70 to 80 percent.
Shortage of currency
Asim said that as they were facing a shortage of dollars, they could trade in the Chinese currency to ensure the availability of essential medicines, medical devices, and other therapeutic goods.
