Yangon, July (23)
The domestic drug production may have been forced to shut down due to the military council’s restriction on foreign exchange and import permits, pharmaceutical manufacturers told Than Lwin Times.
The domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers have been hit by the junta’s dollar restrictions and they have difficulties in buying dollars as well as getting import permits necessary for the import of raw materials for medicine.
A pharmaceutical manufacturer said that the pharmaceutical factory may shut down because of the difficulty in importing raw materials.
At present, the military council’s restrictions on import permits have caused a significant decrease in the import of medicine, and there have been drug shortages in the market.
Due to the shortage of medicine, the price has increased by 30% to 50%, depending on the type of medicine.
An entrepreneur who imports medicine said that “Currently, it is difficult to buy medicines because there is a shortage in the market. The dollar exchange rate in the black market has risen a lot. It takes long for the authorities to verify the import permit. The amount of medicine that we are allowed to import is also limited, so it is difficult for us,” he said.
In Myanmar, pharmaceuticals and related products are mainly imported from Thailand, China and India, and more than 360 kinds of drugs are produced by five state-owned pharmaceutical factories and seven privately-owned factories.
However, only 15 percent of the market’s demand for medicine can be produced locally.
News – Than Lwin Times
Thanlwintimes