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Syringes And Needles Industry : In The Face
Of Competition
The Chinese dragon has hit the Indian syringes and needles industry hard in the
post-WTO era, creating stiff competition for the industry which is already
reeling under strict quality control restrictions and rising costs.
"While most of the glass syringes market already stands captured by the Chinese,
Indian manufacturers are trying hard to build a brand image in the disposable
and auto-disposable segment," says Pardeep Kumar Sareen, general manager
(marketing), Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices Ltd.
"But there too, cheap imports have left the Indians high and dry," says Sareen,
noting the market which was earlier growing by over 30 per cent, is slowly
coming down. "It is no more a lucrative business."
"All this is happening due to adverse government policies. The duty on imported
machinery to set up these units remains high, whereas import of finished
syringes and needles is very cheap (in the interest of the consumer)," says
Rajiv Nath, president, All India Syringes and Needles Manufacturers Association.
As a result most of the manufacturers today are just trading in cheap imported
needles and syringes, repackaging and selling them under any name, says another
manufacturer. "The market is not at all brand conscious," says Nath, adding that
most of the produce is bought by hospitals and clinics in bulk, who hardly care
about the quality and brand.
In last year's import policy, the government gave incentives for brand promotion
abroad. The Indian industry put its act together to build a brand image and
boost its exports. "But in this year's policy, the incentives were suddenly
taken back... The prices of needles and syringes suddenly increased and today,
no one is willing to buy our produce at high prices," notes Sareen.
"Under the packaging and labelling rules, Indian importers have to give Batch
Number, Expiry Data, Logo and MRP. But the foreign-made ones have no such
provisions and what all is printed is in local language. The chemists are thus
free to fix the MRP of these products, posing grave threat to Indian products
which are priced on the slightly higher side," says Nath."Faced with tough WHO
guidelines on the use of quality disposable syringes and domestic licensing
compulsions, the Indian manufacturers have gone in for quality certifications
and today their produce matches international standards.
According to WHO figures, in India alone, 7.8 mn people suffer from infections
(hepatitis B, C and HIV) caused due to unsafe injection practices. It is also a
cause of great concern all over the world as 21 mn people are affected by such
infections. "The problem is more so because of lack of awareness among consumers
on the of disposable syringes," says Sareen, noting "We have come out with
auto-disposable syringes, which are rendered unusable after having delivered the
prescribed dose of medicine. (PTI)
(Ref:- http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/
20020630/edit3.shtml )
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