Anisul Islam Noor :
The country may earn about Tk40, 000 crore from exporting medicines to 87 countries across the globe provided several barriers are resolved, said Abdul Muqtadir, Secretary of Bangladesh Oushad Shilpo Samity.
The country is earning about Tk8, 500 crore at present, which may exceed Tk 15000 crore by 2015 and gradually Tk40, 000 crore by 2020, he said.
For registration and setting up of a laboratory for quality test of medicine in the country, where the medicine will be exported, each pharmaceutical company has to invest minimum $50,000 USD to $3,00,000. But the government does not allow more than $30,000 dollar, as per the Money Laundering Act, Abdul Muqtadir said.
The samity secretary demanded reform of the said Act in the interest of medicine industry to boost the country’s foreign exchange. The country’s pharmaceutical companies have been manufacturing world class and quality medicine for long.
Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Austria, Brazil, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Pakistan, Singapore, France, Spain and Vietnam are among the countries where there is good demand of Bangladeshi medicine because of standard quality, he said.
According to International Marketing Survey (IMS), the volume of local medicine market is about Tk20, 000 crore of which 98 per cent are filled by the domestic Pharmaceutical companies.
There are 257 registered Pharmaceutical companies have in Bangladesh of which 194 have been producing medicine, drug administration sources said.
