Streamline customs norms to boost pharma exports to China'

New Delhi: To boost India's pharmaceuticals exports to China, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has called for streamlining customs procedures and removal of non-tariff barriers.

The chamber suggested that recognition agreements on standards should be arrived at and full details of standards should be made easily available. It also recommended that the various non-tariff barriers such as procedural, legal and cultural barriers be identified, and addressed in a time-bound framework. A bilateral pre-shipment inspection agreement would also benefit both countries, it said.

Deterring factors


It is noteworthy that Indian exports of drug, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals to markets such as the US, Europe, Africa and South America have grown by 19 per cent annually in the last three years, while the world average growth rate for this sector is about six per cent. In contrast, India's exports to China have grown at just three per cent in the last three years. This indicates that the high-performing Indian pharma sector has not found the environment conducive for achieving similar growth with China, according to the chamber.

Procedures for product and company registration and for procuring import drug licences are expensive and time-consuming. This is a considerable deterrent for Indian entrepreneurs to initiate exports to China, FICCI pointed out.

Long customs procedures, re-inspections and discriminatory packaging and labelling regulations that even specify the colour used for packaging, result in delays and higher costs. Easier trade financing and greater cooperation between the Exim banks of the two countries would also work to the benefit trade between the two countries, according to the chamber.