The illegal inflow of affordable Indian medicine into Pakistan is continuing unabatedly through green channels because of their huge price difference in the two countries.
The illegal inflow of affordable Indian medicine into Pakistan is continuing unabatedly through green channels because of their huge price difference in the two countries.
According to the Daily Times, passengers coming from India prefer carrying cheap drugs, as the prices of Indian drugs are far cheaper than those of Pakistan.Dr Qaiser Waheed, President of Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), was quoted as saying, that low cost of Indian medicine is the major factor behind the flood of medicines in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical markets.
Due to disproportionate prices of raw material, which is far low in India, medicines arriving in Pakistan are very low priced and they fetch considerable benefit to the carriers. As a result, large number of passengers coming to Pakistan through rail and air route from India carry of large variety of drugs, says the report.
Dr Waheed said around 15 percent of Indian vaccine through third country import get into Pakistan each year, adding that if the government allows, the needy would get cheap treatment of Hepatitis B.
Pakistan imports anti-Hepatitis B vaccine from the UK, Korea and other European countries, out of which around 60 percent imports are made from Korea, which cost a lot to the consumers.
He further said that India accounts for 22 percent of the world production of generic pharmaceuticals, and it exports around 42 percent of its products to markets all over the world, except Pakistan.
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Source-ANI
LIN/M
