• Most Cos eyeing to US market

Golam Mostafa Jibon

As the dollar market has started to getting normalized gradually after the interim government coming on power, pharmaceutical sector in the country is now trying to turn around again.

Meanwhile, the sector has started to see the symptoms of recovery from the losses caused by several obstructions including dollar crisis, political and recent labour unrest.

Experts said, if the dollar market remains stable, import of raw materials for manufacturing drugs will be eased and normalized like the previous periods. It will help to expand businesses.

They however, urged the authorities concerned especially newly appointed governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur to bring the dollar exchange rate within Tk 110 with the aim to facilitate LC opening.

Industry insiders said, the workers involved in the life saving drug productions started agitations in Gazipur and Narayanganj in the last and first week of August and September to press home their 18-point demands including salary hike and job perpetuation.

Due to the two week long movement, the production of medicines was disrupted in largest 19 pharmaceutical companies including various units of Square, General Pharma and Incepta.

As a result, the country’s pharmaceutical industry fell into deep crisis that leads short supply of life saving medicines to the market.

Taking the advantage, some unscrupulous medicine traders in different places of the country started realizing additional prices of medicines putting the patients and their relatives at misery.

Abdul Muktadir, President of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industry (BAPI) said, “The dollar rate has almost come under stable situation after fall of Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina. The incumbent interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus has appointed Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur as the governor of Bangladesh Bank, who is tackling all the situations with a skilled hand. Due to his restless efforts, the cloud around dollar and LC crisis has started to go away gradually that raises hope of earning profit from this sector.”

He further said, “Currently, the use of boilers has increased in the field of medicine production. But, there is a severe gas crisis in the industrial sector that hampers production activities. In this situation, we are using diesel instead of gas to continue our production that adding additional costs. On the other hand, the purchasing capacity of the people has been reduced drastically due to abnormal price hike of essential commodities. Consequently, we can’t increase the prices of our medicines for the sake of people. It is also considered as a great shock for the pharmaceutical industry. We however, dream to overcome all the bad situations shortly.”

Sources said, many new companies of the pharmaceutical sector in Bangladesh are now eyeing to the US market. Some of them have already invested big sum of money to export their medicines to the destinations, while many have submitted applications to the concerned regulatory body seeking export facilities.

Experts seem that, if the companies get opportunities, it will open new more doors of feasibility for the country’s pharmaceutical industry. The involved persons expect that the interim government will take necessary initiatives in this regard to height the prospect of country’s pharmaceutical sector.

Abdul Muktadir, President of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industry (BAPI) and also Managing Director of Incepta Pharmaceutical further said, “Bangladeshi medicines are now being exported to over 157 countries in the world. Almost all sorts of medicines particularly 98 percent of the total demand are now being produced in our own country. After fulfilling the domestic demand, huge quantities of medicines are exported abroad. Of them, US market is our main target.”