Le Cong Nhuong, deputy director of the Binh Dinh Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Company (Bidiphar), said sales from exports could compensate for higher costs of production.

The Binh Dinh Province-based Bidiphar exported about US$538,000 of drugs in the first quarter of the year, mostly to Laos, Cambodia, Italy and Canada.

Bidiphar is planning to invest in plants that meet Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards set by the US and the EU.

Bidiphar is now searching for new export markets, especially in Africa and plans to export US$2.5 million of drugs this year compared to US$2.4 million in 2007.

The Can Tho City-based DHG Pharmaceutical Joint-Stock Company (DHG PHARMA) currently exports 77 kinds of drugs to 12 countries and territories.

Pham Thi Viet Nga, chairwoman of DHG PHARMA, said her company has exported drugs for the past three years.

DHG PHARMA has also signed export contracts with American companies, Nga said.

The company exported more than US$1 million drugs last year, an increase of 47 percent compared to 2006.

The Mekophar Chemical Pharmaceutical Joint-Stock Company is planning to cooperate with Nigeria’s Neros Pharmaceuticals Ltd to build a drug plant in Africa to exploit the market there.

The Ho Chi Minh City-based pharmaceutical company Mekophar is exporting its products to Laos, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Congo and Russia.

According to the Vietnam Drug Producers and Traders Association, most drug companies export finished drugs, raw materials for drugs, and essential oil.

The total export revenue of domestic drug companies is till low, only reaching dozens of millions of US dollar a year, the association said.

More and more drug companies, however, have been applying GMP standards, creating more opportunities for exporting, industry experts have said.