Pharmaceutical companies raise drug prices due to slumping kyat

By DMG 23 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
23 July 2022, Sittwe

The prices of medicines are rising in some cities including the commercial capital Yangon due to the kyat’s depreciation against the US dollar and other foreign currencies, and shortages of some commonly used medicines are being reported in the market, according to pharmacies.

Local pharmaceutical companies importing home medicines have reportedly increased their prices by around 15%, and some companies have suspended sales of medicine.

Since July 21, the price of some commonly used drugs has increased by as much as 20 percent, said the owner of a pharmacy in Yangon.

“When the US dollar price went up, the drug companies raised the medicine prices by 15%, making it difficult for us to order more drugs. Eight out of 10 medical companies no longer sell drugs. So we are only selling pharmaceutical stockpiles,” the pharmacy owner added.

A resident of Bago said some people are stockpiling at home, fearing shortages and the potential for further price hikes.

“Paracetamol, a commonly used medicine, is completely out of stock in some pharmacies, and the price is twice as expensive as before,” said the Bago resident, adding that some pharmacies were setting per person limits on the sales of certain drugs.

About 85 percent of the medicines used in Myanmar are imported from foreign countries, and depending on fluctuations of the US dollar and other foreign currencies against the kyat, domestic market researchers have analysed that there may be widespread shortages of some medicines within months.

“Pharmaceutical companies in Myanmar import the most household medicines from the United States, Thailand and South Korea. It is estimated that there may be a shortage of some household medicines in the market within months due to the fluctuation of the US dollar, the Chinese yuan and the Thai baht,” one market researcher told DMG.

The Central Bank of Myanmar has fixed the exchange rate at around K1,860 per dollar, while the rate on the open market has surpassed K2,400, according to foreign exchange operators.