Pharmaceutical sector exceeds US$ 1 billion in exportations
Gazeta Mercantil - 04/07/2008
The increase in the importations of the Brazilian pharmaceutical chain, which helped take the sector of health to a US$ 6 billion deficit is also related to the fact that some multinationals invested to transform local manufactoring lines into exportation platforms, following the world model of globalized production in order to better use the plants. The action, added to the effort of the national industries to increase their businesses abroad, helped expand the foreign sales. For the first time in 2007, the chain's exportations exceeded the barrier of US$ 1 billion. "The innovative product has globalized production and Brazil competes to conquer it. When it wins it, there is an increase in the importation of pharmochemical products, but it exports more medicines. When it loses it, it has to import the medicines", explained the executive-president of the Brazilian Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Febrafarma), Ciro Mortella, remarking that there are many drawback operations (no-taxes importation in order to produce manufacture products for exportation) in the trade balance figures. German Bayer Schering Pharma, for example, increased exportations from R$ 30 million (US$ 17.1 million) to R$ 470 million (US$ 268,6 million) in 2007 due to lines also focused on foreign market. Danish Novo Nordisk is another example. Since last year it produces last generation insuline in the State of Minas Gerais, mainly to meet the foreign demand. Another German, Boehringer Ingelheim do Brasil, also has local platforms of exportation of medicines. In total, the chain exported US$ 1,09 billion FOB, 20% increase when compared to 2006's US$ 908,12 million. From 2007's amount, US$ 745,06 came from sales of pharmaceutical products, including medicines, and US$ 351,6 from the exportations of pharmochemical products and pharmochemical adjuvants (raw material used in the composition of medicines), according to a survey based on the data of the Brazilian Association of the Industry of Fine Chemistry (Abiquif) and on the Group of the Executive Professionals of the Pharmaceutical Market (Grupemef).