The Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, overseen by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said on Tuesday that the pharmaceutical manufacture costs are expected to rise by about 50 per cent due to the Egyptian pound’s floatation.
Egypt’s Central Bank decided last week to liberalise the exchange rate for the Egyptian pound against foreign currencies, bringing the dollar’s exchange rate to 18 Egyptian pounds in the official market yesterday, compared to about 8.78 Egyptian pounds before the floatation decision has been activated.
The Deputy Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Industry Chamber at the Federation of Industries Riad Armanious said during a press conference yesterday that the production costs of the pharmaceutical companies would rise by 50 per cent due to the Egyptian pound’s floatation decision, which was announced last week.
Ahmed El Ezaby, the Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Industry Chamber in the Federation of Industries pointed out that the Egyptian pound’s current exchange rate led to an increase in the drug’s manufacturing costs, which have exceeded its market price.
Egypt imports 90 per cent of its drug’s manufacturing materials from abroad, while the government imposes its prices.
Pharmaceutical companies in Egypt requires about $ 2 billion annually, the Pharmaceutical Industry Chamber data revealed.
During a press conference, the Chamber members demanded a dialogue with government officials, aiming at discussing ways to deal with the pound’s floatation negative impacts.
Egypt has 150 pharmaceutical factories worth 40 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.22 billion) of investments.
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