Australia has a drug problem.
According to statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, drug exports have declined by 30% in the past year, and their pharmaceutical export industry's worth has dropped to $2.5 billion a year from $4 billion in 2012, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Medicine Australia says these numbers are cause for concern.
"At a time of growing demand for innovative, safe and effective medicine products in Asia, particularly in China, Australia is set to miss out on an enormous economic and job creating opportunity if our politicians fail to get the policy settings right," a press release from the group read.
However, a spokeswoman for Industry and Science Minister Ian Macfarlane told the news organization that this sector is a "key economic area in which Australia has the best potential to compete internationally and in which we can create new economic opportunities," adding that there are plans to boost this industry.
