Iran’s medicine imports fall by 54 percent

TEHRAN,May 21(MNA) - Iran imported $34.2 million worth of medicine in the first Iranian calendar month of Farvardin (March 21-April 20), down 54.7 percent year on year. Medicine imports were decreased by 18.6 percent in weight, reaching 549.7 tons in the month. Meanwhile, exports of medicine amounted to 101.6 tons and $1.2 million in weight and value respectively, down 82 percent and 60.8 percent in order. Some 97 percent of Iran’s required medicine is currently produced domestically, the Fars News Agency quoted Iran’s Health Ministry official Hossein Ayati as saying. About 50 percent of necessary raw material for producing the medicine is imported, he added. Last year, some $1.7 billion was allocated to import medicine which is not produced inside the country, the official said. In November 2012, the health ministry of Iran called the Central Bank to earmark $2 billion for importing medicine to cope with the domestic shortage as a result of international sanctions.