Pakistan's pharma imports decrease

ISLAMABAD: The imports of medicinal products into the country during the first quarter of financial year (2019-20) witnessed a decrease of 12.11 percent as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Pakistan imported medicinal products of worth $257.139 million during July-September (2019-20) compared to the imports of $292.566 million during July-September (2018-19), showing negative growth of 12.11 percent, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity,Pakistan imported 6,544 metric tons of medicinal products during the period under review as compared to the imports of 5,985 metric tons during corresponding period of last year, showing an increase of 9.34 percent in term of quantity.

Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the medicinal imports witnessed decline of 7.91 percent in September 2019 when compared to the imports of the same month of last year.

The medicinal imports during September 2019 were recorded at $ 90.475 million against the imports of $ 98.245 million in September 2018. 

On month-on-month basis, the medicinal imports however increased by 4.46 percent during September 2019 when compared to the imports of $86.616 million in August 2019, the PBS data revealed.