Pallam Raju asks Argentina to open market to Indian Pharma Companies
The Minister of State for Defence Dr MM Pallam Raju has sought easier access for Indian Pharmaceutical Companies to the Argentine market. Addressing a Seminar on "Argentina- India: Trade, Investment and Business Opportunities" here today, Dr Pallam Raju said that Indian Pharmaceutical Companies faced difficulty as India does not figure in the Group of 26 countries Buenos Aires allows imports from. He hoped that the matter would be resolved during the current visit of Argentine President Mrs Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to New Delhi.
Following are the extracts from Dr. Pallam Raju’s address to the Seminar:-
It is heartening to note that the visit of Her Excellency Mrs Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Hon'ble President of Argentina, accompanied by a high level delegation, is taking place during the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Argentina which were established on February 03, 1949. This visit marks 15 years since the last visit by the then Argentine President Mr Carlos Menem in 1994. A reciprocal visit subsequently by former Indian Prime Minister Mr PV Narasimha Rao took place in 1994.
FICCI, Assocham and CII, in cooperation with Embassy of Argentina, have organised this seminar on "India-Argentina: Trade, Investment and Business Opportunities" at a very opportune time.
India and Argentina share views on a number of international issues and are working to strengthen cooperation in a number of diverse areas. Both the countries have signed MoUs in the fields of Agricultural Research (in 2006), Antarctic Cooperation (in 1998) as well as agreement on Technical and Scientific Cooperation (in 1985). India and Argentina are also discussing cooperation in the areas of defence, industrial research, hydrocarbons, space and civil nuclear energy. Both the countries have signed the Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement (BIPA). This demonstrates that the bilateral relations between the two countries are moving into higher trajectory.
Argentina is the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil, soyabean oil; world's second largest exporter of corn; and world's third largest producer of soyabeans. Argentina has high agricultural productivity. Argentina is, therefore, one of the major sources of import of oilseeds, pulses and other agricultural products by India. Indian companies are, therefore, also keen to develop agriculture land in Argentina.
Many Indian companies have already made investments in Argentina in the sectors like information technology, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and mining sectors. The investments by Indian companies are estimated to the tune of US$ 119 million. They employ around 1,300 Argentine nationals. A few Argentine companies have also set up operations in India in the engineering and pharma sectors. On the energy front, Indian and Argentine companies are discussing cooperation in oil and gas sectors.
There is good scope for Indian investments in Argentina in sectors such as petroleum, mining, manufacturing, information technology, agriculture, forestry, etc.
The bilateral trade between the two countries has witnessed quantum jump during the last 5 years from about US$ 611.29 million in 2003-04 to US $ 1.196 billion in 2007-08. Indian exports to Argentina during this period grew from US$ 87.33 million to US$ 289.68 million. Imports from Argentina, on the other hand, went up from US$ 523.96 in 2003-04 to US$ 905.87 million in 2007-08. Principal items of India's exports are chemicals, automobiles (including 2-wheelers) auto parts, textiles and garments, engineering goods, electrical & electronic equipment, metal products, hand tools, rubber & plastic products, jute yarn and products, essential oils, leather & leather products, etc. Chemical products account for about 40 % of India's total exports to Argentina. Principal items of India's imports include edible oils (constituting 75 % of total imports), chemicals, iron and steel products, cotton yarn, wool, leather, wood pulp, paper and paper board, zinc, copper waste and scrap etc. However, Argentina's share in India's total trade currently is still a meagre 0.29 %. Indian exports to Argentina constitute only 0.18 % of India's total exports; while imports from Argentina constitute 0.36 % of India's total imports. This means that there is a tremendous scope of enhancing bilateral trade in diverse sectors.
As Argentina is a member of Mercosur Trade Bloc, the India Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement , which came into effect on June 1, 2009, is expected to give further boost to the bilateral trade between the two countries. Indian and Argentine companies are also keen to cooperate in other areas such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and manufacturing.
On behalf of the Indian Pharmaceutical Companies, I would like to utilise this opportunity to highlight a couple of issues, which I hope would engage the attention of Her Excellency the President of Argentina.
Firstly, in pharmaceutical sector, as per Argentine pharma import policy, pharma imports are allowed from a group of 15 countries mentioned under "Annexure 1" and another group of 11 countries mentioned under "Annexure 2". For all other countries outside these two annexures, there is a complicated procedure which makes pharma imports into Argentina from these countries very difficult. India currently does not figure in these two lists and, therefore, Indian pharma companies are not able to export finished formulations to Argentina even though Argentine pharma manufacturers import their pharmaceutical raw materials from India. This is inspite of the fact that India companies have good manufacturing and R&D capabilities as well as the largest number of USFDA approved plants outside USA.
Secondly, Indian companies have expressed that they would like the Argentine visas to be granted to them more expeditiously. I would like to conclude by saying that there is tremendous potential for bilateral trade and cooperation between the two countries and that needs to be effectively utilised.
The Minister of State for Defence Dr MM Pallam Raju has sought easier access for Indian Pharmaceutical Companies to the Argentine market. Addressing a Seminar on "Argentina- India: Trade, Investment and Business Opportunities" here today, Dr Pallam Raju said that Indian Pharmaceutical Companies faced difficulty as India does not figure in the Group of 26 countries Buenos Aires allows imports from. He hoped that the matter would be resolved during the current visit of Argentine President Mrs Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to New Delhi.
Following are the extracts from Dr. Pallam Raju’s address to the Seminar:-
It is heartening to note that the visit of Her Excellency Mrs Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Hon'ble President of Argentina, accompanied by a high level delegation, is taking place during the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Argentina which were established on February 03, 1949. This visit marks 15 years since the last visit by the then Argentine President Mr Carlos Menem in 1994. A reciprocal visit subsequently by former Indian Prime Minister Mr PV Narasimha Rao took place in 1994.
FICCI, Assocham and CII, in cooperation with Embassy of Argentina, have organised this seminar on "India-Argentina: Trade, Investment and Business Opportunities" at a very opportune time.
India and Argentina share views on a number of international issues and are working to strengthen cooperation in a number of diverse areas. Both the countries have signed MoUs in the fields of Agricultural Research (in 2006), Antarctic Cooperation (in 1998) as well as agreement on Technical and Scientific Cooperation (in 1985). India and Argentina are also discussing cooperation in the areas of defence, industrial research, hydrocarbons, space and civil nuclear energy. Both the countries have signed the Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement (BIPA). This demonstrates that the bilateral relations between the two countries are moving into higher trajectory.
Argentina is the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil, soyabean oil; world's second largest exporter of corn; and world's third largest producer of soyabeans. Argentina has high agricultural productivity. Argentina is, therefore, one of the major sources of import of oilseeds, pulses and other agricultural products by India. Indian companies are, therefore, also keen to develop agriculture land in Argentina.
Many Indian companies have already made investments in Argentina in the sectors like information technology, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and mining sectors. The investments by Indian companies are estimated to the tune of US$ 119 million. They employ around 1,300 Argentine nationals. A few Argentine companies have also set up operations in India in the engineering and pharma sectors. On the energy front, Indian and Argentine companies are discussing cooperation in oil and gas sectors.
There is good scope for Indian investments in Argentina in sectors such as petroleum, mining, manufacturing, information technology, agriculture, forestry, etc.
The bilateral trade between the two countries has witnessed quantum jump during the last 5 years from about US$ 611.29 million in 2003-04 to US $ 1.196 billion in 2007-08. Indian exports to Argentina during this period grew from US$ 87.33 million to US$ 289.68 million. Imports from Argentina, on the other hand, went up from US$ 523.96 in 2003-04 to US$ 905.87 million in 2007-08. Principal items of India's exports are chemicals, automobiles (including 2-wheelers) auto parts, textiles and garments, engineering goods, electrical & electronic equipment, metal products, hand tools, rubber & plastic products, jute yarn and products, essential oils, leather & leather products, etc. Chemical products account for about 40 % of India's total exports to Argentina. Principal items of India's imports include edible oils (constituting 75 % of total imports), chemicals, iron and steel products, cotton yarn, wool, leather, wood pulp, paper and paper board, zinc, copper waste and scrap etc. However, Argentina's share in India's total trade currently is still a meagre 0.29 %. Indian exports to Argentina constitute only 0.18 % of India's total exports; while imports from Argentina constitute 0.36 % of India's total imports. This means that there is a tremendous scope of enhancing bilateral trade in diverse sectors.
As Argentina is a member of Mercosur Trade Bloc, the India Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement , which came into effect on June 1, 2009, is expected to give further boost to the bilateral trade between the two countries. Indian and Argentine companies are also keen to cooperate in other areas such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and manufacturing.
On behalf of the Indian Pharmaceutical Companies, I would like to utilise this opportunity to highlight a couple of issues, which I hope would engage the attention of Her Excellency the President of Argentina.
Firstly, in pharmaceutical sector, as per Argentine pharma import policy, pharma imports are allowed from a group of 15 countries mentioned under "Annexure 1" and another group of 11 countries mentioned under "Annexure 2". For all other countries outside these two annexures, there is a complicated procedure which makes pharma imports into Argentina from these countries very difficult. India currently does not figure in these two lists and, therefore, Indian pharma companies are not able to export finished formulations to Argentina even though Argentine pharma manufacturers import their pharmaceutical raw materials from India. This is inspite of the fact that India companies have good manufacturing and R&D capabilities as well as the largest number of USFDA approved plants outside USA.
Secondly, Indian companies have expressed that they would like the Argentine visas to be granted to them more expeditiously. I would like to conclude by saying that there is tremendous potential for bilateral trade and cooperation between the two countries and that needs to be effectively utilised.
No comments:
Post a Comment