Pharma exports grew by 3.9% growth in April.

The Exports of pharmaceutical products and services for the first month of the new fiscal year 2022-23 have shown a four percent growth compared to last year’s same period.

According to the preliminary data released by India’s merchandise trade for April 2022, pharma sector export has grown by 3.9 percent to $1.97 billion, compared to $1.89 billion reported during the same month of last year.

That happens at a time when the overall exports of the country during the month have seen a striking increase of 24.22%, the highest ever for exports of the country in April. According to the ministry of commerce and industry, this increase in total exports is buoyed by the growth of exports of petroleum products, electronic goods, and chemicals. Pharma exports have contributed a mere 5.15 percent of the total exports from the top 10 major commodity groups – which is significant but not as much as expected.

Exports for April have also declined compared to the previous month, April.

According to the preliminary estimates of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in April, Exports during March 2022 have reported a 4.2 percent growth to $2.39 billion compared to $2.29 billion in the same month of the previous fiscal year.

The exports of drugs and pharmaceutical products and services during the fiscal year 2021-22 have witnessed a growth of a mere 0.66 percent at $24.6 billion compared to $24.44 billion registered during the previous fiscal year, according to the preliminary estimates of the department of commerce. The Union Government of India was targeting an ambitious goal export of $29 billion during the fiscal, but the market conditions didn’t support that growth, claimed experts.

The Central government of India has recently said that the Indian pharma industry exports witnessed a commendable growth of 103 percent since 2013-14, from Rs. 90, 415 crores in 2013-14 to Rs. 1,83,422 crore in 2021-22. It claimed that the exports achieved in the fiscal year 2021-22 are the Pharma Sector’s best export performance ever.

Union minister of commerce and industry, consumer affairs, food, and public distribution, and textiles, Piyush Goyal, has highlighted the achievement on his Twitter account and praised the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The industry’s exports grew by almost $10 billion in eight years.

Building on the outstanding performance in the previous fiscal year 2020-21, Indian pharma exports again registered excellent performance in 2021-22, said a recent press release issued by the union government of India. The pharma exports in 2021-22 have sustained a positive growth despite the trade disruptions and drop in demand for Covid-related medicines all over the globe. The trade balance, too, has continued to be in India’s favor, with a surplus of $15.18 billion.

Indian pharma companies, being enabled by their price competitiveness and good quality, have made a global mark, with nearly 60% of the world’s various vaccines and 20% of generic medicines coming from India.

“Behind India’s pharma success story is our world-class manufacturing excellence, robust infrastructure, cost-competitiveness, trained human capital, and innovation. The current market size of the Indian pharmaceutical industry is around $ 50 billion,” it claimed.

The share of pharmaceuticals and drugs in India’s overall global exports is 5.92%. Formulations and biologicals have accounted for 73.31% of total exports, followed by Bulk drugs and drug intermediates with exports of $4.44 billion. India’s top five current pharma export destinations are the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Russia, and Nigeria.