Answering critics as to why certain drugs are not manufactured locally, despite the availability of resources, Healthcare Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the main reason was that the population was not large enough.

He said saline could be easily manufactured in the country but the entire annual requirement could be manufactured in a three-month period leaving the workers at the plant to idle during the rest of the year while being paid. This would mean unnecessary expenditure, he said.

Speaking at a ceremony to felicitate the State Pharamaceutical Corporation dealers, He said that if not for the strengthening of the State Pharmaceutical manufacturing mechanism, prices of locally manufactured drugs would have gone up by as much as 100 per cent. This in turn would have jeopardised the buying power of the poor which would lead to sicknesses and deaths among the under privileged.

He said that despite the escalation of world oil prices the State mechanism involved in the manufacture of drugs did not increase prices by even five cents.

He thanked the late Professor Senaka Bibile who introduced the mechanism which enabled the country to produce quality drugs at affordable prices. The Government had strengthened this Bibile concept, the Minister said.

He said the Government manufactures over 250 varieties of quality drugs that are in daily use in hospitals and dispensaries and costs much less than imported drugs.