By Arsalan Ali

ISLAMABAD, Aug 17, (INP WealthPK): Pakistan can increase the export of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan by addressing the issues of high fees for product registration, shortage of distribution facilities and difficulties in getting visas, WealthPK reports.

Syed Anas Mateen, a research associate at the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), told WealthPK that Pakistan had a huge capacity for OTC products. He added that Central Asian countries were major importers of OTC medicines.

Pakistan has a great opportunity to increase the exports of OTC exports to Central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Pakistan exported OTC drugs worth $8.5 million to other countries in 2021. However, the share of exports to the Central Asian countries is less than one percent despite low transportation charges owing to the short distance between Pakistan and these countries.

Syed Anas said that Pakistan exported OTC drugs worth $2.4 million to Uzbekistan, $1.5 million to Kazakhstan and $2.3 million to Kyrgyzstan in 2021. He added that Uzbekistan imported $562 million worth of OTC drugs from the rest of the world, Kazakhstan imported $810 million and Kyrgyzstan imported $150 million from other countries.

“Pakistani pharmaceutical exporters in Central Asian countries face issues of visa, distribution facilities and high fees for product registration,” he said. He added that exports of OTC medicines could be increased to the desired level through an urgently needed sectoral growth strategy, deregulation of drug prices, strengthening of intellectual property rights and a consistent policy regime.

Syed Anas said that Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry had the potential to export its goods to other countries in a big quantity and increase its foreign exchange reserves. He added that government should provide incentives and financial assistance to exporters.

According to him, China and India are the largest producers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). The largest suppliers of API in Pakistan are Pharmagen Limited, Zafa Pharmaceutical and City Pharma.

A recently released report of TDAP has urged chambers of commerce in these countries to institutionalise their coordination. “This will enable them to bring together business communities through exhibitions, visits and seminars. Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) should be signed with these countries because the registration fee is too high,” it said.

The report said that all countries should encourage joint ventures with sovereign guarantees. It added that banking channels must be established under the supervision of the State Bank of Pakistan to resolve banking issues.

It said that government agencies could assist exporters by providing testing facilities at customs departments at a subsidised rate to fulfil requirements related to technical barriers to trade. “There should be a single window operation in Pakistan to assist exporters with documentation and expedite bureaucratic processes,” the report added.

It said that marketing activities, especially exhibitions, in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan would promote Pakistani products in those countries. It added that establishment of the Pakistan trade centres at eminent locations in Almaty, Khorgos and Nursultan would boost bilateral trade.

It said that it was imperative to utilise the MoU between the National Agency on export and investment ‘Kaznex Invest’ and TDAP to arrange exhibitions, exchange business delegations and hold seminars on trade. “Two railway links, Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran and Pakistan-Iran-Turkey, must be joined to establish rail connectivity between Islamabad and Nursultan,” said the report, available with WealthPK.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk