India made a strong pitch to push exports of its pharmaceuticals to China in a big way asserting that a good opening exists for its $21 billion strong pharma industry to make forays into China, if the Chinese government cleared hurdles to provide market access.
Indian Ambassador to China, S Jaishankar along with the an Indian pharma delegation, headed by N R Munjal, president, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, met officials of State Food and Drug Administration and Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday and urged them to take steps for faster clearance of licences for Indian products.
Jaishankar said the delegation tried to impress upon Chinese officials that while the Chinese companies trading in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) were getting clearances in about a year, it is taking three to five years for an Indian companies to clearances in China.
China's API exports to India touched $3.3 billion last year, while Indian drugs struggled to post $500 million worth of exports to China, even though Indian companies boasts of USFDA approved facilities, exporting to 170 countries, Jaishankar said.
"We tried to make out a case that like India making use of Chinese machinery to expand its infrastructure, China, too, should take advantage of well placed Indian pharmaceutical industry which can help to make the basic drugs available for far cheaper prices benefiting the Chinese public," Jaishankar told PTI after meeting the officials.
He said though bilateral trade crossed $60 billion last year, it tilted heavily in favour of China with its exports crossing over $40 billion.
It would be difficult to continue sustaining bilateral trade on the basis of current trends, he said.
It would be even more difficult if, as expected, some of India's current major exports actually started to decline, he said, pointing to the decline Indian raw material exports like iron ore and cotton.
"There is an urgent need to change the trade basket and introduce elements where India has proven competence.
Pharmaceuticals readily fit the bill, he said adding for its part India is organising campaigns to create awareness of Indian products.
India is pushing for market access based on the assurances by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, to address the trade imbalance, he said, adding an Indian pharma delegation is visiting China for the first time to closely interact with their Chinese counterparts.
He said during today's interaction, Chinese officials had proposed to a nodal body comprising of SFDA officials and Chief Controller of Drugs of India to interact on the market access issues, which will be seriously considered.
Munjal said besides requesting Chinese officials to remove trade barriers to provide level playing field for Indian pharma companies, he has also suggested to create an India desk for speedier clearance of Indian drug products and frequent visits by regulators of both countries.
"We wanted the time limit to be shortened. On average, it is taking three-five years for registration of products in China. Indian drugs are cleared by US Food and Drug Administration besides a number of developed countries and China should look into this before taking so much time," he said.
It is also time consuming as most formalities have to be completed in Chinese language, besides the extended timeline in registering the products that were turning out to be major hurdles, he said.
Munjal and his fellow delegates also interacted with Ni Rulin, president of China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products yesterday, besides SFDA.
Officials of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Industry also took part in the meeting, arranged by the Indian Embassy as part of efforts to expand of scope of Indian exports.
K Nagaraj Naidu, First Secretary of the Indian Embassy said last week the Indian mission had organised an India-China interface between top Chinese and Indian auto component manufacturers, followed by the pharma event.
India has identified IT, pharmaceuticals, agriculture products and engineering goods as some of the main areas after a detailed study to step up exports to China.
India is organising campaigns all over China to create awareness about the potential for exports in all the four areas, Naidu said.
