Europe may face a shortage of medicines due to the situation surrounding Iran and the associated blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the newspaper La Tribune, APA reports.
As the publication notes, Europe relies 80% on China and India for its pharmaceutical industry supplies, where the sector is also destabilized by oil and gas prices. Supply chains have also been disrupted by slower air travel in the Middle East and Asia.
"There are other shipping options, but they are more expensive, and the supply chains for some substances are so complex that this could eventually lead to shortages," the newspaper quotes Deniz Ünal, a representative of the CEPII economic research center. Furthermore, the newspaper continues, many components, including ethylene, urea, and paraffin, are sourced directly from the Persian Gulf countries.
