Victoria Pharmaceuticals Industry Limited says it has the capacity to produce 90 million syringes annually far exceeding the Malawi Government’s current consumption of about 9 million to 10 million syringes a year.
The company’s managing director Furkan Gan said this yesterday when he appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Health where he outlined the company’s production capacity, defended the quality of its products and called for government support for local pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Gan said the company’s manufacturing plant in Blantyre was established to supply syringes to the Malawi Government with its products labelled as government property.
He said the plant’s production capacity presents an opportunity for Malawi to strengthen local production of essential medical supplies and potentially serve markets beyond its borders adding it is the only company that produces syringes in Southern Africa.
“My syringes are solely made for the Malawi Government because they have a label on them which says Property of Malawi Government. My plant has the capacity to produce 90 million syringes a year, which the government cannot currently consume. It consumes about 9 million to 10 million, depending on disease outbreaks. Sometimes, when there is an outbreak, demand increases. When there is no outbreak, the quantities differ, so the annual demand is not fixed,” said Gan.
Beyond production capacity, Gan called on the government to give local manufacturers preferential consideration in public procurement saying the domestic companies need predictable markets to sustain investment, create employment and contribute to tax revenue.
He said the government should engage local manufacturers to agree on prices and supply arrangements that would enable them to compete while maintaining production standards.
Gan also warned that procurement decisions based primarily on the lowest tender price could disadvantage established manufacturers and pose risks if suppliers lacked the capacity to meet the required quality standards.
He further identified foreign exchange shortages as a major challenge facing pharmaceutical manufacturers, saying production depends on imported raw materials.
Gan urged the government to protect its Buy Malawian initiative saying support for locally manufactured products would encourage more investment in the country.
“The Buy Malawian initiative, which the government has introduced, must be protected. We appreciate the government for promoting Buy Malawian products and supporting and protecting us. In that way, you will see many people willing to invest in this country,” Gan added.
Chairperson of Parliament’s Health Committee Anthony Masamba said foreign exchange shortages had been a recurring concern during the committee’s engagements with pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Masamba said the committee has established that local pharmaceutical companies have the capacity to manufacture medicines and medical devices but are struggling to access foreign currency to import the raw materials required for production.
He questioned why car importers appeared to be accessing foreign currency to bring vehicles into the country while pharmaceutical companies struggled to obtain the dollars needed to produce essential medicines.
Masamba said the committee will engage the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) to understand how foreign currency is being allocated and whether priority is being given to sectors critical to public health.
