Reason behind shortage of Vitamin C tablets in market

New Delhi, Sep 26: Due to the disruption in supply of certain essential pharameceutical ingredients, there is said to a shortage of some medicines including Vitamin C tablets.

The medicines that are in shortage are those whose raw material come from China. The reason behind this is the crackdown by the Chinese government to enforce environmental laws which has led to shutdown of some manufacturing units.

Over the last year, nearly 150 Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) manufacturers in China have closed down their facility to comply with environmental standards, said a Livemint report.

As far as Vitamin C tablet are concerned, there has been a shortage in supply of Sodium ascorbate, which is one of the key ingredients to manufacture these pills.

More than 60% of APIs in India are sourced from other nations and for some specific APIs, the dependence is more than 90%, according to the department of pharmaceuticals under the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers.

This shortage may seems as a problem as of now, but in the long run the domestic companies that have capacities and know-how are likely to see a rise in business.