Pharmexcil seeks Indian Ambassador in China’s help on Sichuan Airline issue

Pharmexcil, pharma exports body under the Ministry of Commerce, sought the intervention of Indian Ambassador in China Vikram Misri, into the cargo supply disruption caused by the suspension of the country’s state-run Sichuan Airlines. Uday Bhaskar, Director General of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), in a letter written to Misri, stated that the cargo flights’ suspension is likely to disrupt efforts by the Indian pharma industry to import medical supplies including oxygen concentrators.

Sichuan Airlines recently suspended all its cargo flights to India for 15 days, causing major disruption to private traders’ efforts to procure the much-needed oxygen concentrators and other medical supplies from China despite Beijing offering “support and assistance” to deal with the latest surge of COVID-19 cases.

“We, therefore, would like to request His Excellency to intervene and to take necessary measures to restore the supply chain of medical needs of our country including KSMs/APIs etc either by restoring the cargo services of Sichuan Airlines or by way of arranging Indian air cargo to lift the medical supplies at the interest of the people during these difficult times,” Udaya Bhaskar requested the Indian envoy.

He said India sources almost 60 to 70 per cent of its requirements of drug intermediates, KSMs and APIs from China and most importantly 45 to 50 per cent of all APIs imported figure in the National List of Essential Medicines.

(Edits by EP News Bureau)