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Exports of drugs and pharmaceuticals from the country have seen a marginal decline of 1.9 percent during the month of December, 2022 as compared to the corresponding month of previous year. For the nine months ended December, however, the exports reported a growth compared to the same period of last year.
According to the quick estimates by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the drugs and pharmaceuticals category has reported an exports of $2.26 billion in December, 2022, as compared to $2.30 billion during the same period of previous fiscal year.
For the nine months ended December, 2022, exports was reported at $18.85 billion, with a growth of 3.57 percent as compared to $18.20 billion registered during the corresponding period of previous year.
The challenge, however, is to achieve the target of $27.4 billion set by the central government for pharmaceutical exports during the current fiscal year, especially with the challenges faced in the regulated markets. The government is targeting a 11 per cent growth during the fiscal year 2022-23, from the exports of $24.4 billion achieved during the fiscal year 2021-22.
Imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products, for the first time in several months, reported a marginal growth of 1.61 per cent during the month of December, 2022, at $754.67 million as compared to $742.69 million during the same month of last year. Nevertheless, imports during the nine month period from April to December, 2022 reported a decline of almost 12 per cent at $6.13 billion as against $6.96 billion during the same period of previous fiscal year.
Pharma exports witnessed a growth of 103 percent since 2013-14, from Rs 90, 415 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 1,83,422 crore in 2021-22. The exports achieved in 2021-22 is the Pharma Sector’ best export performance ever, claimed the Ministry of Commerce recently. The exports grew by almost $ 10 billion in eight years.
Around 55 per cent of its pharma exports cater to highly regulated markets. Indian pharma companies have a substantial share in the prescription market in the US and EU. The largest number of US Food and Drug Administration approved plants outside the US is in India, according to the Central government.
In the year 2020-21, Indian drugs and pharmaceuticals had registered a sharp growth amid the Covid-19 despair, achieving an export of $ 24.4 billion with a YoY growth of 18%.
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