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South Africa opens doors to ayurvedic medicines

India's ayurvedic medicines are set to make inroads abroad with the South African government allowing the import of traditional cures and health products from other countries.

"We will soon be exporting ayurvedic medicines to South Africa under the category of health products and not as food supplements," said Shailaja Chandra, secretary, Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.

"This will give a major boost to ayurveda, India's ancient system of medicine."

Chandra toured South Africa last week along with Minister of State for Health A Raja to promote the country's traditional systems of medicine.

Chandra said initially only 35 companies that meet modern pharmaceutical standards would be allowed to export to South Africa. There are about 9,000 Indian companies involved in production of therapeutic products.

Already Indian pharmaceutical majors like Cipla and Ranbaxy have triggered a global price war by selling combinations of AIDS drugs in Africa at rates much below international prices.

These companies have roped in foreign distributing agencies to market their anti-HIV cocktail drugs in the subcontinent.

Ayurvedic medicines are currently imported by countries as food supplements and account for Rs.4.5 billion worth of trade. "It is expected to double by the end of the year."

A number of steps have been taken to popularise the country's traditional systems of medicine. The health ministry's 'Traditional Knowledge Digital Library', an online documentation of the various systems, is a step in that direction.

Indo-Asian News Service

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