ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Some Turks are struggling to buy medicines as the industry warns that stocks are shrinking after an “unsustainable” crash in the lira has pushed up import prices and disrupted supplies.
Industry leaders and pharmacies said the 48 billion lira ($4 billion) sector was facing steep losses on some products, and warned of disruptions in coming months for drugs including those for children, common colds, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Already weak, the Turkish currency has shed as much as 25% since the beginning of last week due to what analysts call reckless interest rate cuts that have caused shortages of some imported products.
Nezih Barut, chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Turkey, told Reuters stocks of some drugs were down to a week, compared to a month usually. Pharmaceutical companies are being forced to curb some suddenly expensive imports due to the currency drop, he added.
“Some pharmaceuticals are not on the market. This is caused by forex rates and also the difficulties we face in accessing raw materials at a global level,” Barut said.
For one mother, the concerns were acute.
The latest lira slide exacerbated an existing problem for an industry that imported 24 billion lira ($2 billion) worth of medications last year: the Turkish Pharmacists Association said earlier this month there was already trouble accessing 645 medicines.
The lira has tumbled by 38% against the dollar and 32% against the euro so far this year. Selling accelerated this month when the central bank, under pressure from President Tayyip Erdogan, slashed rates by another 100 basis points to 15%, well below inflation at 20%.