Orders decline, exporters in BBN area bear Covid brunt

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, November 23

Export-oriented units (EOUs) in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) area of the state are facing a sharp decline in orders received.

The worst-hit are the pharmaceutical units as drugs are supposed to be consumed within a limited period. A majority of the drugs have an expiry period of about two years and six months while the nutraceuticals have an expiry period of about one-and-a-half-year to two years.

While the consumption of Covid-related drugs is barely 2 per cent, the consumption of other drugs, a majority of which are scheduled drugs and require a prescription from a medical officer, has been abysmally low. “People are reluctant to visit a doctor and the consumption of repeat drugs and those prescribed in the outdoor patient departments (OPDs) of a hospital has seen a sharp decline. The situation is similar in India as well as abroad, as OPDs have barely started functioning. The second wave of the pandemic in several countries will once again hit the consumption of other drugs,” says SL Singla, adviser, Himachal Drug Manufacturers Association.

“Though we had received an order worth US $1 lakh about seven to eight months ago from Yemen and Uzbekistan, I was directed to keep the order on hold as the clients did not want to take the risk of stocking drugs due to a lack of sales. Since the clients have not exhausted their earlier inventories, they are reluctant to buy more drugs which have an expiry period of about two-and-a-half-years on an average,” says Singla.

The micro, small and medium sector enterprises (MSMEs) are particularly distressed due to the pandemic. A majority of the pharmaceutical units in the BBN area, which is acclaimed as the pharma hub of Asia, comprise MSME units and their exports comprise as much as 15 to 20 per cent of their total production.

What has added to the plight of the exporters is the second wave of Covid in European countries. With lockdown having been imposed for a second time, several exporters of engineering tools have been directed to defer their orders till New Year.

Sandeep Verma, who exports engineering tools from Baddi, says, “Some export orders, which were supposed to be delivered in November-December in some European countries, have been deferred.”