The Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA) has asked the Union government to keep in abeyance the Union Commerce Ministry's recommendation for imposing provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of penicillin G (Pen G) and 6 APA as the data submitted by the petitioners for imposing anti-dumping duty is distorted and is far from real.
Demanding a thorough investigation by the government to get into the real picture of the issue, the BDMA has said that the petitioners (Alembic & SPIC) have smartly timed their appeal for imposing anti-dumping duty in view of the fact that the investigation was conducted during the period between September 2008 and March 2009, when the global economy was badly affected as an offshoot of great recession and economic meltdown. So, the figures born out of the investigations carried out during that period would naturally favour the petitioners.
Cautioning the government about consequences of such a move, BDMA said that if the proposed anti-dumping duty is imposed, the procurement cost of penicillin G and 6 APA will increase, resulting in higher manufacturing cost of antibiotics. The cost of antibiotics will go up and will result in additional burden on common man, which means millions of Indians will have to bear the escalated cost of these life saving drugs. The estimated market for the antibiotics made from penicillin G &6 APA is about Rs. 3,000 crore.
Further, the proposed move could also create a monopoly like situation in the country since there are only two companies (Gujarat-based Alembic and Chennai-based SPIC) making the products in India and would ultimately result in shortage of life saving drugs (antibiotics) in the country. These companies together produce only around 200 MT of 6 APA as against the total demand of around 5000 MT per annum. Also, the production of Penicillin-G by the petitioner companies is only 3500 MMU as against the country's total demand of about 17000 MMU per annum.
The BDMA said that the objective of imposing anti-dumping duty will not be achieved as in the process of protecting the injury to two domestic manufacturers (Alembic & SPIC), around 30 bulk drug manufacturing companies will have larger injury.