European ports losing business as pharma cos opt for alternative routes.
European countries are trying to woo back the Indian customers they had lost following seizure of drug consignments by Customs authorities of several European Union members.
Ports were the preferred transit points and European airlines were the chosen carriers of Indian generic drugs to Europe, Africa and Latin America, until consignments were seized on charges of intellectual property violations a few years ago. This forced firms such as Cipla, Dr Reddy's, Aurobindo and Ind-Swift to route their export consignments to Africa and Latin America through non-European channels.
Business delegations from various European ports have, of late, started visiting India to make up for the loss of business, industry officials said. According to them, India has been given an unwritten assurance that genuine drugs will not be seized.
“Recently, two delegations from Belgium had come to promote their ports as preferred export and transit hubs,” a senior industry official said.
On April 6, a team of Amsterdam port officials will hold a roundtable conference with Indian pharmaceutical industry in Mumbai. Considering the fact that Amsterdam had been the focus on most seizures that developed into major controversies, and India threatening to take the EU to the World Trade Organisation’s dispute settlement forum, industry observers give much importance to the visit.
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Officials said the Amsterdam port delegation would focus on issues such as market access, fiscal representation and showcase its logistics, strengths before domestic drug makers. The delegation is also expected to bring in more clarity with regard to the customs processes in European countries.
About 40 per cent of the Rs 42,000 crore medicine export earnings come from regions that can be catered by European ports. The EU accounts for 20 per cent of India’s drug exports while Africa and Latin America add up to another 15 and 6 per cent, respectively. Amsterdam port alone handled medicines worth Rs 5,000 crore yearly, an industry expert said.
The domestic industry is also hoping to revive its European links as the alternate shipment routes, through West Asia, were more expensive and time consuming, he added.