Following the recommendation of the directorate-general of anti-dumping and allied duties (DGAD) under the Ministry of Commerce, the central government has imposed anti-dumping duty on ceftriaxone sodium sterile - the third generation cephalosporin - imported from China.

The government has imposed different amount of anti dumping duties on products exported by major producers and exporters of ceftriaxone sodium injectables from China, namely Fujian Fukanga, Suzhou Dawnrays Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, Shijiazhuang Pharma Group Hebei Zhongrun Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Zhuhai United Laboratories Co Ltd, Livzon Syntpharm Co Ltd and Lizhu Pharmaceutical Trading Co Ltd.

A notification, issued by the Ministry of Finance in this regard will also cover all the export firms of the product from China to India from end of November 2007. The newly levied duty amount varies from US$ 65 (around Rs 2,600) to US$ 89.96 (more than Rs 3500) per kilogram for imports into India.

The official decision to impose duty on Chinese imported products would help the Indian companies in the market, hopes industry sources. "At one time, the price of the product went too low to Rs 4500 per kilogram and at present has raised back to Rs 8000 per kg. We hope that the government's move will support our supply of ceftriaxone injectable in the domestic market," said a market source from Nectar Lifesciences Ltd.

The product, a semisynthetic broad spectrum cephalosporin for intravenous or intramuscular administration, has a total market requirement of 30 tonnes per month in India, informed industry sources.

Aurobindo Pharma, Madhya Pradhesh based Lupin lab, Chandigarh based Nectar Life Science, and the Mumbai based Kopran Ltd are the major manufacturers of the sterile injectable product in India. The DGAD initiated its efforts to monitor the import of ceftriaxone sodium sterile as per the request of the Hyderabad based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd.

The preliminary findings of DGAD on the issue detailed that the ceftriaxone sodium injectables have entered the Indian market at prices less than its normal values from China. The authority has recommended imposition of provisional anti-dumping duty on the imports of the product, originating in, or exported from, China, under the current circumstances.