EXPORT OPPORTUNITY IN TURKMENISTAN

Mohammad Shahbaz Alam

Turkmenistan possesses the world's fourth-largest reserves of natural gas and
substantial oil resources. Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic
reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its economy. Turkmenistan is
bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north and
east, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, and the Caspian
Sea to the west.
Pharma market of Turkmenistan consists of 90% import. The number of listed
pharmaceutical items is around 3,500. Cheaper medicines from Russia, Ukraine,
India, Turkey and Pakistan dominate the market. West European and American
products are imported in much smaller quantities. Among western manufacturers,
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering-Plough (U.S,), Ferrosan A/C (Denmark), Gideon
Richter A.O. (Hungary), Roche (Switzerland) and Berlin-Chemie (Germany) have a
strong presence.
Based on an estimate by a private pharmacy owner, the average annual turnover of
a pharmacy is around $160,000, bringing the total national market size to an
estimated $62 million. 60% of the Imports of the retail pharma market are under
government monopoly through the MoH Agency TurkmenPharmacia.
Pharmaceutical businesses are subject to licensing, and every imported
pharmaceutical item is required to be listed, at a cost of $1,400.Duration of import
registration is 2-6 months depending upon molecule to molecule.
Population of Turkmenistan is approximately 5.5 million and per capita income is
$6,641. It is purely a buyer market like other Russian countries. It is very volatile
market and this market requires redesigning of product quite often. According to
research conducted by Atig, Bristol-Myers Squibb distributor in Turkmenistan, there
are now about 360 state-owned and about 30 private pharmacies. Private sellers are
concentrated in Ashgabat, with few outlets in the regions: two in Mary and one in
Turkmenabat.
Most important information of exporters is that official registration fee is USD 1400
and this country requires regional dossier without drug master file. You will get
advantage if your product is registered somewhere in other Russian countries. If you
are going to register your product first time in Turkmenistan then they might ask
clinical trial report on 100-200 patients. They might require bioequivalence report for
registration of tablet, capsule and suspension and even for cream. Registration
remains valid for five years.
It is noteworthy that you can enter into Turkmenistan once in a year in the month of
July to participate in Pharma events. There you can meet with regulatory body and

importers. You can stay not more than 2-3 days to participate in this event. Else you
can meet in India or Turkmenistan neibouring country like Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan.
Dr Sandeep Ranjan and Dr.Imam has shared their experience working with so many
companies in CIS market. Both are from Bihar and based in CIS since more than 10
years. Mr Ashfaq Zahid, a Pakistan national who is one of the big distributor in
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan has shared about market intelligence and strategy as
how to enter into these CIS market. Even if you have any query regarding as how to
export
pharmaceutical
goods
to
Turkmenistan,
contact
directly
to
shahbaz@meherpharma.com