Traders deliberately withheld importing medicines in response to price controls: President

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has said that some traders deliberately stopped importing medicines as a reaction to the government's efforts to regulate medicine prices under the Aasandha reform programme which had lead to medicine stock becoming unavailable for some time.

Speaking at a press conference, President Muizzu said the government had introduced price caps to prevent excessive markups of up to 1,000 or 2,000 percent on certain medicines. In response, some businesses allegedly halted imports, creating shortages.

"They stopped bringing some medicines on purpose, just to choke supply," he said.

"When they stopped, there were delays. STO could not bring in such a large volume in time."

To address the issue, the government has ensured that 10 basic medicines and other essential drugs are now stocked at all STO pharmacies across the country. So far, 784 drugs from the approved list have been delivered, 308 are on order, and suppliers are being sought for 115 more.

President Muizzu added that price restrictions on 77 medicines have been eased, and a 15 percent price increase was allowed on some drugs to encourage continued imports and ensure availability.