Karachi:
The Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine exporter on Tuesday threatened Pakistan to “re-export” the 50,000 doses if the company’s preferred price tag is not set by the government quickly.
“AGP Limited, which imported the 50,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, has threatened to re-export the shipment if their desired price is not fixed by the government. The drug pricing committee of DRAP (Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan had recommended Rs 8,449 for two doses of the vaccine, which is not acceptable to the importer,” an official of the federal government told Geo.television on situation of anonymity.
The importer also mentioned promoting the shipment to some other nation was “an option if an appropriate price is not fixed” of their solution.
According to Geo.television, the official maintained that for the duration of “verbal communication”, the importer threatened that they had the choice of re-exporting it or promoting it to some other nation if an proper price, as per the government’s formula of 40 per cent in addition to the landing expense of the solution, is not applied though fixing the price tag.
“The government is already under harsh criticism for the price recommended by DRAP’s pricing committee at Pakistani Rs 8,449. It was calculated on the basis of a landing cost of USD 30 but people are comparing it with the cost of the Russian vaccine in India and criticising the government for fixing a higher price as compared to the neighbouring country,” the official added.
On the other hand, officials at AGP Limited mentioned that they had the “option of re-exporting” the shipment or promoting it to some other nation exactly where they have been “assured” that they will get a price tag “over and above their landing cost in Pakistan”, reported Geo.television.
“The government’s price of Rs 8,449 is not affordable for us because in addition to landing cost, there is distributor margin, storage and transportation costs, and hospitals and institutions will also take their service charges,” an official of the corporation mentioned.
Earlier, the federal government had asked DRAP’s pricing committee to “reconsider and reassess” the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of Sputnik V vaccine doses right after AGP Limited expressed its dissatisfaction more than the price tag advised by the regulator.
Government officials had earlier mentioned that AGP wanted a retail price tag in between Rs 12,500-13,000 for two doses of their vaccine based on their landing expense, freight charges, cold storage and other costs, reported Geo.television.
Pakistan has reported 633,741 circumstances so far. 13,935 people today have succumbed to the infection in the nation.
Last week, Pakistan imposed a comprehensive ban on travel from 12 nations, like South Africa, Rwanda and Tanzania, in a bid to curb the spike of coronavirus circumstances.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday.