EC PHARMACY SALES FORECASTS

The outlook for consumer spending in the pharmacy sector in the six countries which account for almost 80% of the European Community's Gross Domestic Product is patchy, and the boom years of the late 1980s will not return, says a recent Marketing In Europe study from the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Belgium, France and the UK may see some recovery in consumer spending late in 1992, but for the Netherlands this year will mark a low point in economic growth, and Spain will be the most buoyant market. However, 1993 should see an improvement in sales of pharmaceuticals across the region, it says.

The study comments that health care has been one of the strongest consumer spending sectors in recent years, and pharmaceutical sales have been one of the star performers. Trends in consumer purchases are affected not only by the normal economic rules governing any discretionary purchase, but also by the interaction between publicly-funded purchases and those paid for directly by the consumer, as well as by the different administrative arrangements of national health systems.