Several bulk drugs units in the country are facing the prospects of shutting down their operations as huge imports of several Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) are taking place from China at lower prices than their manufacturing costs, it is learnt.

Low value imports of drugs from China has seriously affected the manufacturing units especially those manufacturing Ampicillin, Amoxicillin, Vitamin C, Paracetamol, Analgin, Ciprofloxacin, Norfloxacin and Diclofenac, a spokesman of the Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association said.

The Chinese bulk drugs are cheaper when compared to Indian products because of economies of scale, lower tariffs of power and tax structure, he said. Some of the units had already suspended or closed manufacturing their plants due to this.

Government sources claimed that the Centre was committed to ensure some protection to the industry by levying anti-dumping and related duties. The directorate general of anti-dumping under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is looking after the matter.

"Whenever some complaints were received about dumping and they were proved, action had been taken to deal with the problem by imposing anti-dumping duties. The registration of all imports of bulk drugs with the Drug Controller General of India has also been made compulsory to check the trend," sources said.

It was also pointed out that public sector plants of Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd at Rishikesh manufacturing penicillin G, ampicillin, amoxycillin, tetracycline and oxytetracycline and their Hyderabad plant manufacturing vitamin B1, vitamin B2, folic acid, chloroquine phosphate and alpha methyl dopa ran into crisis and went red largely due to the import of these drugs from China. The public sector plant of Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd., manufacturing penicillin has been another casualty, sources said.