Brasília – Data from the Ministry of Health indicate that more than 90% of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) currently used in Brazil to produce medicines are imported. Furthermore, only 50% of medical equipment are produced nationally. The estimated deficit is R$20 billion.

“We cannot have the reality we have today: a deficit in the trade balance of R$20 billion, which means the second deficit in the trade balance”, assessed the Minister of Science and Technology, Luciana Santos. “We have seen how harmful our dependence on this area of health is. We saw this during the covid-19 pandemic. We depend on respirators, which are equipment of medium complexity, and even masks, revealing how cruel the situation is,” she said.

Source: Agência Brasil