Demand pattern paradigm shifted to quality products

While the demand for commercial supply of pharmaceuticals and laboratory products was dominated by cheaper domains, it is now being shifted to quality assurances, exhibitors at the ongoing Asia Pharma Expo-2023 said.

They also said that visitors are flocking to the stalls showcasing solid oral medicines, production equipment and ingredients, processing control machines, tubes and fire safety equipment.

However, most of the companies taking part in the fair from the developed countries expressed their frustration as a small number of buyers approached them to import machinery and other items following the recent financial crisis and Bangladesh’s problem with allowing letters of credit (LCs).

Despite the weekend in the country, the expo has seen fewer visitors Friday morning but after Jumma prayers, the number of visitors increased. The potential customers are seen taking the opportunity of the pavilions or stalls ‘setting inside the expo jurisdiction and getting in and out of any product they are interested from the companies.’

Rakib Ahmed, Director of Maritime Entrepreneurs Pte Ltd, said that such expo helped the local distributors and production companies to come in touch with all sorts of pharma related companies under one platform where they can learn about newer technologies, how the tech-world is evolving about supplies and gather knowledge about more sources to bring quality products.

“It also helps analyse the local market and where it is going towards,” he added.

Exhibitors at Bismillah Industrial and Automation and Engineering told the Business Post that they are getting good response from the visitors but getting lesser orders. They expressed the hope that sales may gain pace on the last day of the expo.

Some 127 local companies and over 500 foreign companies are participating in the expo.

Talking to The Busin ness Post, Dr Nitesh Shah, business director (Asia South–Health care) of Evonik Operations GMBH, said that customers’ interest in quality products is growing.

“If it can be quantified, it will be as much as thrice of previous three years.”

“The customers are asking about the certification of the products, their current market, and scope of customisation or further enhancement and so on. But nearly three years back, it was limited to one area–cheaper machinery,” he added.

According to the business director following the customers’ demand, solid orals are more established in Bangladesh and so the demand for machinery and ingredients for producing oral products are very high.

In comparison to the demand for vaccines and liquid ones, biotech is very less, Dr Nitesh observed.

Harald Kaufmann, area sales manager (sales pharma solid) of German company Syntegon Technology GMBH, also feels that the demand for items related to solid oral production are in high demand.

But the problem lies in the recent financial crisis and LC related problems. Quality comes first for them and so customers with predetermination mostly visit their pavilion.

He has been attending the expo since 2015 and this time he found that the customers are reluctant this time for these reasons, the sales manager said.