The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) has expressed serious concern over the government’s intention of granting Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, which will significantly affect the local pharmaceutical industry, possibly forcing it to close down altogether. A letter written by Chairman PPMA, Khawaja Muhammad Asad, against the move to the government and all chambers, says the expansion of bilateral trade with India under MFN will not have positive impact on the domestic pharmaceutical sector.
The MFN status will significantly impact the local pharmaceutical industry and there are fears of closure of the industry resulting in massive job cuts.
PPMA sought support and requested the president and prime minister to take up this matter with concerned ministries to save the local pharma industry, which has shown progressive growth over the years. PPMA strongly feels all medicines should be in the negative list and the local pharma industry should be given full government support as it forms the second line of defense in case of war, natural disasters, or epidemics.
At present, the industry has the capacity to manufacture a variety of product ranging from simple pills to sophisticated biotech, oncology and value added generic compounds. Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry meets around 90 per cent of the country’s demand of finished medicine. All these achievements would go down the drain and a vibrant and forward looking industry would be demolished if medicines, including biotech products, are allowed import from India without imposing tariff and non-tariff barriers, anti-dumping duties, the letter said. The size of Indian pharmaceutical market is ten times larger than the Pakistani market. Indians have become global players in this sector while Pakistan has no chance of survival if MFN status is granted to India. He urged the government to follow Bangladesh’s example, which has imposed a complete ban on Indian pharmaceutical products. It has helped their pharmaceutical sector to grow and become global exporters, helping in earning foreign exchange and jobs to the people.