Pharmaceutical and drug exports surged by 9.67% on a year-over-year basis, reaching $27.9 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24, despite a three percent decrease in overall exports during the same period. Data from the commerce ministry indicated that in March alone, pharmaceutical exports surged 12.73% to $2.8 billion, up from $25.4 billion in the previous fiscal year 2022-23.
The primary markets for these exports over the past year included the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Brazil, with the U.S. purchasing more than 31% of India’s total pharmaceutical exports. Both the UK and the Netherlands accounted for roughly three percent each of the exports.
The fiscal year 2023-24 also saw Indian pharmaceutical exports reaching new markets such as Montenegro, South Sudan, Chad, Comoros, Brunei, Latvia, Ireland, Sweden, Haiti, and Ethiopia. The ongoing robust demand, particularly from the U.S., continues to drive strong monthly growth in exports.
Industry specialists project that by 2030, the value of India’s pharmaceutical industry could surpass $130 billion, driven by growing market opportunities and sustained international demand. Previously, the industry was valued at over $50 billion for the fiscal year 2022-23, with monthly exports averaging between $2 billion and $3 billion.
As reported by The Indian Express, India stands as the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical industry in terms of volume and ranks thirteenth in value, manufacturing over 60,000 generic drugs across sixty therapeutic categories. To further boost domestic production, the government has introduced two production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes focused on key pharmaceutical ingredients and generic drugs.
