Chijioke Orimadike, a drug store owner at Mushin, Lagos, should have been elated by the government’s directive to allow pharmaceutical firms to operate amid lockdown aimed to halt the spread of coronavirus disease. But he is rather disenchanted. His store remains shut as both the restriction on movement and a lack of personal vehicle caged him at his Ikotun residence, a 22.3km distance from his store.
“It is really affecting me. I have not been going to work. My customers have been calling me but there is no bus to move,” he complained.
Many retailers of medical supplies have largely been challenged with getting to their respective outlets due to the collapse of public transportation, unable to serve the needy consumers at this period. Those with the means to reach their stores, on the other hand, have been experiencing depletion of their stock supply and an untold hardship replenishing their stock.
Apart from the ballooning prices of preventive medical products – face masks, hand gloves and hand sanitisers – that have trailed the outbreak of COVID-19, getting drugs that were often demanded under regular circumstances has become a 50/50 chance due to manufacturers’ inability to access raw materials needed for production. Wholesalers are placing premium on available stock with retailers scrambling not to run out of basic stock.
Anti-malarial, antibiotics and analgesics have been hugely impacted by COVID-19, with their prices soaring up to 40 percent higher than pre-coronavirus era, Judith Okoro, a pharmaceuticals vendor, told BusinessDay.
Interestingly, the demand for these drugs has dropped by 50 percent in what Okoro attributed to reduction in stressful and energy-sapping activities that drive demand for pain-relief medicines, for instance. It has been the same for diabetes and hypertension drugs.
“People wanted analgesics and sedatives that will make them sleep. We used to order high quantities but now we don’t do that anymore. Our drugs now last weeks more than they used to. It was moving fast before and could finish in a week. We buy different brands of anti-malarial drugs. But the demand has dropped,” Okoro explained.
“Some were N500 but now they are N700. Our sales have dwarfed by 50 percent. Before we used to close by 8pm, now we close by 6pm. In fact, we could stay 30 minutes without a customer calling in,” she said.
Okoro reckons that wholesalers are also apprehensive about losing their stock since the measures to contain the outbreak has included shutting of borders.
A March 23 report by BusinessDay had predicted that Nigeria may experience drug shortages in the coming months if the coronavirus continues its spread into the third quarter of the year.
More than 70 percent of resins and excipients used by Nigerian pharmaceuticals come from coronavirus-hit Asian countries, particularly China and India, who are now controlling shipments of the raw materials to other countries as a means of self-preservation and due to low economic activities. These countries also account for the majority of imported drugs used in Africa’s most populous country.
Humphrey Mogbogu, a manager at Pharmatex Industry Limited, said the situation has affected pharmaceutical movement of products and trickling down the supply chain.
Pharmatex now operates below 30 percent of its production capacity as a result of lack of raw materials for manufacturing and staff shortage. Mogbogu argues that manufacturers will need soft loans to stay afloat and avoid laying off workers at the end of the lockdown.
“Staff that are not mobile cannot come to work. Production and sales have reduced drastically and it is affecting pharmaceutical companies negatively. If you are not relevant to production, you will stay home which reduces our capacity,” Mogbogu said.
“Secondly, getting raw materials to manufacture is a problem. We are relying on the stock procured before the pandemic and it’s fast running out. We will have a problem when that happens. That time is very near and imminent. This whole thing came as a rude shock and even when it came nobody was expecting a shutdown,” he said.
Apart from drugs, basic food items are disappearing from major stores. Products such as dairies, beverages, fruits, bread and personal care are increasingly becoming scarce and more expensive when available.
Joseph Onah, CEO, Sparkles, which manufactures soaps, shampoos and other personal care products, said he could not supply to stores because he has not been able to get raw materials and his staff members cannot get to the factory.
“Initially when the pandemic started, we were still able to produce while employing precautionary measures. However, It has not been so recently,” he said.
Onah explained that many of his distributors have sold out their stocks and there could be a problem in meeting demand after the lockdown.
Most food companies are permitted to operate to assuage hunger and appetite of Nigerians, but some of them who source raw materials from outside their states are facing logistics challenges, said a director of communications at a medium-sized food company.
Mansur Ahmed, president, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), in an earlier statement sent to BusinessDay, said security officers were not allowing unrestricted movement of manufacturers’ vehicles in some states, thus disrupting the value chain.
Small and medium businesses are facing supply chain challenges than large enterprises who have the resources. BusinessDay found that some SMEs cannot bear the cost of logistics at this time and are unable to import inputs due to their high prices.
Paul Gbededo, chief executive officer of Flour Mills of Nigeria plc, largest food conglomerate in Nigeria, said the company’s supply chain is intact.
“Our supply chain is localised,” he said in a recent Channels TV interview made available to BusinessDay.
“We ensure that whatever raw material we need is obtained locally. We are happy that the Federal Government has made provisions to ensure than imports are still coming in, especially for essential sectors,” he further said.
A Lagos-based large-scale dairy company said that it is able to produce and keep the supply chain running, owing to the support of the state.
ODINAKA ANUDU & TEMITAYO AYETOTO
