ECOWAS tariff will ruin the drug industry, pharmacists warn govt

Drug manufacturers in the country are seeking “an immediate review” of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) policy that places zero import tariffs on finished drugs and five to 20 per cent import tariff on raw materials and packaging for the pharmaceutical industry.

The group, under the umbrella of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMGMAN), made this call at a press conference at the weekend. It called for a review of the new National Drug Distribution Guideline (NDDG).

The group warned that if allowed, the CET and NDDG may precipitate the immediate collapse of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry with attendant loss of more than one million jobs and N500 billion investments.

Led by Okey Akpa, chairman of PMGMAN, the group maintained that there was a need to keep Nigerian factories running rather than factories overseas, and save the local manufacturing industry from “imminent collapse”.

“This policy will undoubtedly spell doom for the local industry, as imported medicines will become far cheaper than locally-produced ones. This situation is inimical to the survival of the local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector and there is a need for an urgent review,” Akpa said.

“The laudable achievement of having four WHO-certified manufacturing facilities was earned through the initiative of the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the individual investment of the companies involved.

“The industry has invested an estimated N100 bn in various facility upgrades over the last five years. These investments have not brought about the desired benefits largely due to neglect by successive governments and lack of patronage.”

He listed unemployment, loss of investment, increase in fake and substandard products, skill stagnation, considerable depletion of scarce foreign exchange due to continued dependence of imports, zero contribution to GDP growth as direct effect of the adoption of the policy on the industry.

Therefore, the group recommended that an import adjustment tax of 20 per cent on imported finished pharmaceutical products of HS coded 3003 and 3004 should be imposed immediately, as applied to other sectors where Nigeria has capacity as allowed by CET.

In addition, he appealed that pharmaceutical raw materials should be allowed to be imported at zero per cent import tariff by bonafide pharmaceutical products’ manufacturers.