‘Heavy pharmaceutical products importation threatens local production’

The heavy importation  of pharmaceutical products have been affecting local production in the country, Chairman, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), Ph‎armacist, Okey Akpa has said. He stated this while speaking on the 2015 Manufacturers Pharma Expo which held last month with the theme: Nigeria Pharmaceutical Industry and Internal Competitiveness, and […]

The heavy importation  of pharmaceutical products have been affecting local production in the country, Chairman, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), Ph‎armacist, Okey Akpa has said.
He stated this while speaking on the 2015 Manufacturers Pharma Expo which held last month with the theme: Nigeria Pharmaceutical Industry and Internal Competitiveness, and had the President ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Kadre Desire Ouedraogo as the special guest of honour.
The event was a platform designed for stakeholders in the health sector as well as related industries such as food, beverages, toiletries, and cosmetics to exchange information, products, services and ideas.
Several participants from Nigeria and ECOWAS countries  participated in the expo in addition to about 120 exhibitors and delegates from France, Germany, Indian, China among others.
Akpa said 20 per cent tax should be imposed on all pharmaceutical products under harmonised system codes ‎of 3003 and 3004 while importation of raw materials, excipient and packaging input for manufacturing of local pharmaceutical goods should attract zero per cent tax.
According to him, the tax is crucial to encourage local pharmaceutical manufacturers ‎to increase capacities and remain in business.
He said, “We hereby reiterate the need to protect the local pharmaceutical manufacturers and encourage industrialisation as self sufficiency in essential medicines has national security implications. Our position remain that Nigeria’s responsibility to minimise the effect of diseases on the economic, social and political stability of the country cannot be abdicated to imported medicines.”
We again use this medium to urge the government to take urgent and necessary actions to redress current policy on the ECOWAS Common Tariff and save the local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry from imminent collapse.‎”