India to lift import curbs on three intermediates

India's Commerce Ministry says it is soon to lift import restrictions onpenicillin, rifampicin and 6-APA, by removing them from the negative list of imports.

Industry sources say this will force major domestic producers of these intermediates, including Torrent, Gujart Biotech, JK Pharmachem, Hindustan Max GB and Lupin Chemicals, to reduce their products' prices, reports the Marketletter's New Delhi correspondent.

The sources also note that the Ministry has recently told the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals that import restrictions on the three intermediates are no longer tenable under Article 20 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.