Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Jul 15, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Jul 15, 2002 |
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Industry & Economy
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Exports & Imports Registration norms hurt drug exports to S. Africa
THE recently-concluded four-day India-South Africa trade dialogue under the joint forum of ISACA (India-South Africa Commercial Alliance) in South Africa, according to independent observers, has opened up tremendous opportunities for export of pharmaceutical products from India to the entire Sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa is generally considered to be the spring board to the African market, and among the broad areas of cooperation in pharma sector falls the scope for exchange of biotechnology with reference to manufacturing of penicillin and other antibiotics. However, according to some key members of the trade delegation, just back in India after the second board meeting of ISACA, registration procedures for export of medicines was a major snag for enhancing export of this item to the South African market. There is a huge demand for competitively priced bulk drugs in the entire African region. They have sought a thorough review of the registration procedures for export of medicines to South Africa. Some of them even described the stiff norms prescribed by way of registration formalities for export of pharmaceutical items as a kind of non-tariff barrier, which should be taken up for discussion at the highest level in both countries. Besides this, the other two important export areas identified are chemicals and engineering and equipment. Besides a detailed analysis of the chemicals sector, closer links between the export promotion councils of both the countries has been suggested. In the engineering sector, the delegation members feel enough opportunities existed for Indian low-tech machinery manufacturers to maximise the South African market through joint ventures or equity partnerships with small, medium and micro start-up companies, which come from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. It is also pointed out that South Africa has a highly developed mining industry and the required technological capacity to utilise the opportunities in the increasingly liberalised Indian mining sector.
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