The financial year ending March 31 registered highest growth in pharmaceutical export in the past eight fiscals, growing by 18.7 per cent to $24.44 billion. The growth is a result of strong demand for India’s generic drugs. According to a report by The Hindu, the growth is in stark contrast to the performance of global pharma market which shrunk by 1-2 per cent in 2020.
“This was due to a surge in demand for made-in-India generics, owing to their quality and
affordability,” said Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) Director General Ravi Udaya Bhaskar.
Disseminating the estimates released by the Centre’s Department of Commerce, Pharmexcil said in a statement that drug formulations and biologicals remained the second-largest commodity exported by India. In the previous fiscal, pharmaceutical exports had increased by 7.57 per cent to $20.58 billion.
“We have observed a big leap in exports in March to $2.3 billion,” said Bhaskar. This was the highest in any month during the fiscal and 48.5 per cent higher than March 2020’s exports of $1.54 billion. The year-earlier period’s performance was hurt by lockdowns and supply chain disruptions, he said. The March 2021 numbers were provisional, the official added.
Among the countries ordering for Indian pharmaceuticals, North America remains the largest market accounting for a more than 34 per cent share. Exports to the US, Canada and Mexico recorded a growth of 12.6 per cent, 30 per cent and 21.4 per cent respectively.
