03/19/2026 | Michael Esquer | Valor Econômico

https://valor.globo.com/google/amp/empresas/noticia/2026/03/19/conflito-no-oriente-medio-muda-rota-de-medicamentos-de-brasileira-de-pesquisa-clinica.ghtml 

Exporter of supplies, Fic redirected cargo to the Middle East and Asia through alternative routes in Europe

Fic Company, a Brazilian company in the logistics and clinical research supplies sector, had to alter its international transport routes after the start of the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran in the Middle East. At least two shipments to India have already been directly impacted by the conflict.

According to the company, cargo destined for the Middle East and Asia, which previously passed through hubs in Qatar and Dubai, is now being redirected through Europe. The change increased transportation costs by 15% to 20% and transit times on these routes by approximately 30 hours. As a result, journeys that previously took two days can now take up to three.

“For the last shipment from India, we had to go through two airports. The cargo arrived at an airport in Europe and then went to a ‘hub,’ which is another airport. Up to the final destination in India, we have four points where there could be a problem, and we have to manage that. Before, we only used Dubai,” said Pedro Camargo, international logistics coordinator at FIC, in an interview with Valor.

According to him, the impact of the conflict was also felt indirectly on other routes. “Latam, for example, which we use from Brazil to other places, had a 10% increase in its airfare due to the price of a barrel of oil, which is more expensive because of the war and impacts the entire kerosene logistics.”

FIC exports reference medicines and other inputs used in bioequivalence studies conducted in other countries. These studies serve, for example, to verify if similar medications have the same efficacy as reference products. “We have a client in India who imports many reference medications from Brazil to conduct clinical equivalence or bioequivalence studies there,” said Mayla Tanizaki, head of operations and quality at Fic.

The restructuring of routes via Europe is happening because potential failures could compromise the transported material and important stages of the research. “We had to change everything to ship via Europe. Now, we ship to Europe and then continue to the Middle East, or to Asia, as was the case in India,” said Camargo.

In the opposite direction, for companies that import inputs from other countries to Brazil, the situation is not yet a major concern, said Sindusfarma, the pharmaceutical industry union. At the beginning of the conflict, the entity said it feared increased transportation costs to Brazil for raw materials, such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) used in the production of medicines.

“We have sufficient stock to absorb any potential route changes, should the conflict continue,” said Nelson Mussolini, president of the organization. “Alternative routes may increase logistics costs, impacting company profitability, but without affecting consumer prices, since these are regulated by the government.”