Latam firms keen on ayurvedic products
<a href=www.business-standard.com>business-standard.com Our Regional Bureau in Mumbai Published : May 23, 2003
Several Latin American countries evinced keen interest in sourcing ayurvedic products and bulk drugs from India, at the second Indo-Latin American pharma meet organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
Rumed Pharmaceuticals (Paraguay) director Rene Zotti said his company also focused on natural remedies and herbal products and was looking for outsourcing Indian products.
Zotti said his company was also keen on sourcing bulk drugs such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, cardiac and oncological drugs and vaccines as the disease pattern in India and the northern region of Latin America were quite similar.
Alfredo Cifuentes Schulz, international trade head of the US $60-million Laboratorios Maver Ltda of Chile, said his company was also looking for herbal products.
CII Latin American Committee chairman Madhur Bajaj said “Trade between Latin America and India has crossed US $2.5 billion in 2001-02.
A series of policies aimed at boosting Indian exports to the region and the growth of the pharmaceutical market in the top seven Latin American countries by almost 50 per cent from US $20 billion in 2000-01 to US $29 billion in 2001-02, provide a good opportunity to the Indian pharmaceutical industry.”
CII project consultant Varunesh Tuli said in 2002, Latin America’s pharmaceutical market was worth US $16 billion, nearly 4.5 per cent of the global pharma market.
Mexico, with a US $6 billion market, topped the list, recording a nine per cent growth, he said.
“Even per capita consumption figures are high Argentina leads the list with US $115 (pre-devaluation of its currency) followed by Chile at US $53. India’s per capita consumption stands at just US $3. Cardio vascular drugs will constitute the bulk of the demand as there is a three-fold increase in death caused by cardio vascular diseases,” he said.
Tuli said there were no entry barriers in Argentina and Brazil. He stressed the need for entering into referential Trade Agreements, especially with the Mercosur belt comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Ivax Corporation (Mexico) business development director Pedro Morfin called for better relations between governments of India and Latin American countries for free trade agreements in the pharma sector.
Maria Isabel Puerta Correa, purchase chief of Laboritorios Ecar (Columbia), said he was looking for antibiotics, oral medication, injectibles and ophthalmic solutions.
The meet was attended by pharma majors from Chile, Columbia, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. Representatives of companies such as Zentex (Chile) and Ivax Corporation (Mexico) were here to explore opportunities of forging alliances with Indian companies.
More than 70 companies including Nicholas Piramal, Cadila and RPG Lifesciences represented India.