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210 Fighting the Diseases of PovertyDuties and taxes on retail medicinesCountry Combined total duties and taxesIndia 55%Sierra Leone 40%Nigeria 34%Pakistan 33%Bolivia 32%Bangladesh 29%China 28%Jamaica 27%Morocco 25%Georgia 25%Mexico 24%Table adapted from European Commission, 2003◆chance that copies of patented medicines produced in LDCs willleak back into wealthy country markets.In addition, companies have less incentive to registerproducts in markets where their drugs are subject to pricecontrols, leading to shortages in supplies. They also reduce themargins made by pharmacies, making the distribution of drugsto remote and rural regions financially unviable. For example,the price caps forced on certain drugs in South Africa havebeen implicated in the closure of 103 pharmacies. 16 If marketsare left unsupplied in this way, it presents a clear incentive forcounterfeiters to fill in the unmet demand.Taxes and tariffs. LDC governments also stimulate demand forcheaper fakes by artificially driving up the price of legitimatedrugs through taxes and tariffs, which can inflate the retailprice of drugs by up to 50 per cent (see table below). Many ofthe high tariff countries also have a significant indigenouscounterfeit medicine industry and / or problem. It is unlikelythat this is entirely coincidental.