Pharmaceutical sector exported $182.7 million last year

Inquifar emphasized that the quality of Salvadoran products has made it possible to expand export destinations and volumes to non-traditional destinations such as South America.

The Multisectoral Report on the Pharmaceutical Industry 2023 revealed that the sector is conquering new destinations, growing exports and generating well-paid jobs.

The president of the Asociación de Industriales Químico-Farmacéuticos de El Salvador (Inquifar), Carmen Estela Pérez, reported that, with closed data up to December 31, 2023, the sector exported $182.7 million.

“Exports continue to be an important indicator for us because they have grown. In relation to 2022 they grew by 8% in value, and 15% in volume, we closed 2023 with $182.7 million exported,” he said.

Regarding the destinations of the medicines, he indicated that the largest buyers are Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama; but that last year, they managed to enter less traditional destinations due to the sector’s vocation for good quality practices.

“We are already having a greater incursion in South America due to the quality of the Salvadoran product, and to be increasingly raising the standards, because the entry to a new market is not determined by a tariff, but because it meets the health standard of the destination country,” he stressed.

“We are exporting to Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia and Paraguay, all these countries have grown in relation to what we had before”, he added.

Perez reflected that entering these markets means an exceptional achievement, due to the fact that, in the cases of Argentina and Colombia, for example, they have high sanitary quality standards of the medicine they allow to enter to be marketed in their territories.

Regarding jobs, the president of Inquifar recalled that this sector is characterized for being a generator of jobs, and one of the ones that reports the best salaries, and that last year even registered an increase of 6% in the average salary.

In total, according to data from the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS) as of May 2023, the sector has 6,318 jobs, of which 52% are women and 48% are men.

Finally, he highlighted the important synergy between private enterprise and the Government when seeking new export destinations, and in this regard he thanked the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for facilitating approaches with Morocco, which could become the gateway to reach the African market.

INVESTMENTS

Perez has also affirmed, in previous opportunities, that this sector has made investments in the country in excess of $100 million in the last 12 years.

These funds are mainly destined to areas such as plant remodeling, purchase of machinery and training of personnel to comply with good manufacturing practices.

The executive considers that due to this “change of direction”, the Salvadoran pharmaceutical company has managed to increase its competitiveness, becoming the third most important on a regional scale.

Source: Diario El Salvador