The two-day national exhibition of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries in south India, ‘Pharmac South-2014’ began at Chennai Trade Centre, with the participants deciding to augment their contribution to the total export value of pharmaceutical products in the next fiscal.

Inaugurating the exhibition, IDMA president S V Veeramani said that in 2013-14 India exported medicines worth Rs.90,000 crore, in which south Indian pharma companies’ share was 51per cent as per the data available with CDSCO office in Chennai. It will be increased to 12 to 15 per cent in the coming year, he said and added that domestic market value in 2013-14 was Rs.75,000 crore in which 35 per cent contribution was from south Indian companies.

Veeramani claimed that the major supporting factors to boost the exports from south India are concentration on quality orientation, ethical approach and the law-abiding behaviour of the manufacturers. Further, a very conducive political atmosphere is existing in all the states in the south compared to other parts of the country. Moreover, lot of highly qualified professionals are always available in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. All these factors constitute a very good atmosphere for exports.

While delivering the keynote address, Dr S Manivannan, deputy drugs controller at CDSCO office in Chennai, said currently India exports medicines to 210 countries and the number will go on to increase in the coming years. He said no other country including China is able to export quality medicines on reasonable prices as India does.

M Rajaratinam, chairman of Tamil Nadu IDMA chapter, said 150 companies belonging to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and Kerala are showcasing their products and services in the expo. He said more than 1500 visitors from India and abroad have registered as official visitors.

The event, Pharmac South, will culminate on July 19 and it is organized by IDMA Tamil Nadu chapter with the support of Pharmexcil. The theme of the expo is ‘Destination for innovative and reliable formulations and healthcare products’, and is held at Chennai trade centre, near Guindy.

J Jayaseelan, vice-president, IDMA, M Revichandran, vice-president-southern regional committee of IDMA, S Abdul Khader, Tamil Nadu drugs control director, S Sabhapathy, treasurer and K Sivanandan, joint secretary, TN IDMA spoke at the inaugural convention.

In the post lunch session a panel discussion was held on ‘Export Opportunities to Upcoming Markets’, which was moderated by Dr P V Appaji, director general of Pharmexcil.