Coronavirus has disrupted our activities, pharmaceutical importers lament

Nigerian pharmaceutical importers, under the aegis of the Nigerian Representatives of Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturers,



say the outbreak of coronavirus has adversely affected their first quarter turnover.

As of February 24, mainland China’s official death toll had hit 2,592, with more than 77,000 people reportedly infected.

The president of NIROPHARM, Mr Biofem Soremekun, told our correspondent that the outbreak of Covid-19 has had a major effect on member-companies whose major imports came from China.

He noted that some pharmaceutical products manufactured around December before the Chinese holiday were yet to be shipped to Nigeria.

Soremekun said, “What this means is that we have lost one additional month. If we are to factor in the inevitable challenges of port congestion here in Nigeria, it might take another two or three months before the shipment eventually finds its way into our warehouse.

“Definitely, that is going to create a stock-out for us. I am talking about scarcity of some specific products. This is one part of how coronavirus has disrupted our activities.

“The other part has to do with our Chinese manufacturers’ inability to return to their factories because the government has not authorised them to start production.”