Pharmaceutical exports down sharply in Q3

Teva Pharmaceuticals is the main exporter in the sector.

Pharmaceutical exports fell 50% in the third quarter of 2013 from the preceding quarter, the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute reports. The drop totaled roughly $1 billion, and the weak performance of the pharmaceutical sector led the entire Israeli high-tech sector to drop 20% in the third quarter.

High-tech exports in the third quarter totaled $4.5 billion. In the second quarter of this year, pharmaceutical exports totaled nearly $2 billion. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) is the main exporter in the pharmaceutical sector.

The Israel Export Institute explained that the pharmaceutical sector is extremely volatile, and exports vary greatly from quarter to quarter: in the second quarter of this year pharmaceutical exports dropped 17%, after rising 34% in the first quarter. Between January and September of this year pharmaceutical exports fell 16%.

According to Israel Export Institute chairman, Ramzi Gabai, last quarter’s figures are troubling, and they point to the increased competitive challenges facing exporters in the international markets: “The downward trend stems from an ongoing decline of demand in the market, the contraction of global trading volumes, and the weakening dollar. The weight of the major exporters reached its critical mass in recent years. The development of a crisis in one of these companies may cause further shocks within the export industry which could affect the entire economy,” he said.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 16, 2013

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013

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