Exports of Ukrainian medicines down in 2022, one of reasons is complicated logistics – pharma companies

KYIV. April 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Exports of Ukrainian medicines decreased in 2022, one of the reasons was the complication and rise in the cost of logistics, pharmaceutical companies surveyed by Interfax-Ukraine noted.

According to Farmak pharmaceutical company CEO Volodymyr Kostiuk, in 2022, Farmak’s exports decreased by 23% in monetary terms compared to 2021 for a number of reasons. Among these reasons, in particular, was the priority provision of medicines to the Ukrainian market and requests related to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the destruction of a warehouse with finished products and primary packaging of Farmak in the first weeks of the war, “which made it impossible to quickly produce new products.”

According to him, the reason for the decline in exports, which “was felt by all businesses,” was also a violation of logistics, both for the export of finished products and for the import of raw materials and other materials.

In addition, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company noted that “with the outbreak of a full-scale war, a number of foreign partners reconsidered the risks and demanded additional guarantees in cooperation from 100% prepayment for raw materials to the purchase of our products only after they cross the border of Ukraine and are safe.”

Kostiuk said that Indonesia and El Salvador became new sales markets for Farmak in 2022, and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Moldova, Poland, Vietnam, Azerbaijan and Australia were in the top 10 countries of export at the end of the year.

In addition, he recalled that in 2022, Farmak successfully passed an audit by British regulatory authorities and registered two products for sale in the UK: a contrast agent for MRI and a hormonal drug to stop bleeding. Since 2021, Farmak has also been introducing an anti-inflammatory pain reliever for dentistry in this market.

In turn, as the pharmaceutical company Darnitsa told the agency, logistical challenges had become the biggest challenges faced by Ukrainian drug exporters.

According to Anna Pavliuk-Havrylova, head of the department of international registration and entry into new markets of the pharmaceutical company Darnitsa, air traffic was stopped and it had to be completely replaced by automobiles, and for distant markets, pharmaceutical companies additionally used sea transport.

However, despite this, Darnitsa plans to increase the volume and expand the geography of exports. In particular, in addition to entering the Australian market, the company is actively developing the direction of the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) and increasing supplies to Iraq and Yemen.

At the same time, she stressed that at present the company cannot make general forecasts for the drug export market.

For its part, the pharmaceutical company Yuria-Pharm, which operates in more than 40 countries, reported a decrease in export sales by 10.5% in general in 2022 compared to 2021.

At the same time, the company noted that in 2022 the list of countries of presence was expanded. In particular, the company implemented the first export deliveries to Greece, Colombia, Kuwait and the Dominican Republic.

There were no significant changes in the range of exports. At the same time, Yuria-Pharm continued to diversify its product portfolio by expanding the range of products presented.