FPCCI sees 10-year extension in GSP+.

LAHORE -- The business community representatives have claimed that Pakistan will soon have a 10-year extension in the GSP+ status starting from Jan 1, 2024 to December 2034, as the EU has agreed to do so.

They have criticised the federal government and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for allowing the import of finished products from China and India which is disastrous for the local pharmaceutical industry.

'We had a meeting with the European Union parliamentarians in Islamabad in which they said they are re-involving Pakistan in GSP+ status from 2024 to 2034 which is crucial for the country's export industry,' Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh disclosed in a meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Monday.

The EU parliamentarians also said that Pakistan could increase the export of its pharmaceutical products to the European markets many times which were being imported from India earlier.

Pakistan Pharmaceutical ManuAfacturers Association (PPMA) Senior Vice Chairman Nadeem Zafar said the pharmaceutical Industry currently meets 95 per cent of the country's medicine requirements. It only imports 5pc of medicine based on new molecules and...