EghtesadOnline: Import order registration for $1.96 billion worth of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment has been made from March 20 to Sept. 5, indicating a 9% decline compared with the corresponding period of last year, the head of Iran Food and Drug Administration said.

EghtesadOnline: The Central Bank of Iran governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said more than $3 billion has been earmarked for the import of pharmaceuticals since the beginning of the current fiscal in March, IBENA reported on Monday.

EghtesadOnline: The Central Bank of Iran has removed pharmaceuticals from the list of essential items that receive subsidized foreign currency for imports, the head of the Iranian Pharmaceutical Importers Association said.

EghtesadOnline: The value of domestically-made pharmaceuticals has increased 30% in the current Iranian year (started March 2019) and about €600 million less were spent on the import of medicines, says Health Minister Saeed Namaki.

EghtesadOnline: A total of $7.5 million worth of pharmaceuticals were exported from Iran during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22), a member of the Iranian Pharmaceutical Industries Syndicate said.

EghtesadOnline :Outbound smuggling of pharmaceuticals to neighboring countries has provoked ongoing debates over the past few months.

EghtesadOnline: The Iranian government’s policy of granting subsidized foreign currency at the rate of 42,000 rials per US dollar to import pharmaceuticals and medical equipment is distorting the economic process and its furtherance will prove counterproductive, as it will impede the development of the industry.