India’s pharmaceuticals industry players are keen on boosting exports to the Philippines, noting the significant price savings that consumers can enjoy for reliable products that are already being shipped worldwide, officials said.
Johnny N. Chotrani, chairperson of the Philippines-India Business Council, said there is a gap in the availability of cheaper medicines in the Philippines, which presents an opportunity for Indian manufacturers of drugs and medicines.
Chotrani said India has positioned itself as the pharmacy of the developing world, providing quality healthcare products at affordable cost.
Mridul Jain, Joint Secretary of Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said that India is among the fastest growing pharmaceutical suppliers in the world, with exports driving a large part of the growth.
Pharmaceuticals contributed 4.13 percent to India’s total exports. India’s pharmaceutical exports to the Philippines last year reached $105 million, according to official data. India’s contribution to world generic pharmaceutical trade (inclusive of domestic industry) is about 6.4 percent.
As per PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report, finished generics supplied from India account for 20 percent of the global generics market. The fact that Indian pharma products are considered quality products is further demonstrated by the fact that two-thirds of the top 25 destinations for India’s pharmaceutical exports are highly regulated markets. North America remains the top export destination with a share of 24 percent, followed by the European Union with 20 percent.
India exports its pharma products to more than 220 countries across the globe in including Singapore, Russia, Brazil and Kenya, among others.
“We have 19 dedicated pharmaceutical special economic zones in India which are at various stages of developments. Besides catering to requirements of generic medicines in 220 countries across the globe, we have a large domestic market which in itself is expected to touch $20 billion by 2015,” Jain said.