India’s pharma exports witness broad-based expansion
| Photo Credit: istock
India’s pharmaceutical exports rose 6.8% year-on-year (YoY) to $8.1 billion in the first quarter (Q1) ended June, according to the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil).
Drug formulations and biologicals exports stood at $5.98 billion, registering a 4.14% YoY increase and accounting for 73.85% of total exports. Bulk drugs and drug intermediates, the second-largest export category, grew by 13.84% YoY to $1.36 billion, vaccine exports by 35.68% YoY to $0.39 billion. and surgical products exports by 11.95% YoY to $0.21 billion.
The broad-based growth reflects sustained global demand for affordable generic medicines, increasing procurement from regulated and emerging markets and India’s growing strength as a pharmaceutical manufacturing and export hub, said the pharma exporters body, under the Ministry of Commerce.
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), Europe, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) together continued to be the key destinations region-wise, accounting for nearly 75% of the exports. NAFTA alone was the largest market, accounting for 34.28% of the exports.
Country-wise, the U.S. remained India’s largest pharmaceutical export destination, followed by Brazil, the U.K, the Netherlands, and France. The top 25 export destinations, during the quarter, accounted for nearly 70% of pharmaceutical exports, with shipments valued at $5.65 billion, which was 5.50% YoY growth.
“The export performance demonstrates the sector continues to combine scale in established markets with growing momentum across a wider set of geographies. The U.S. remains our largest export destination, with shipments valued at $2.50 billion and a 30.89% share, while the strong performance of Brazil, the Netherlands, France and several emerging markets reflects the expanding global footprint of Indian pharmaceutical companies,” Pharmexcil Chairman Namit Joshi said.
The double-digit growth recorded across Europe, Africa, Latin America, ASEAN and South Asia is important in the present global trade environment. The ability to combine quality, regulatory credibility, manufacturing scale and market diversification will determine strength of India’s next phase of pharmaceutical export growth, he said.
In June, pharmaceutical shipments increased 7.13% to $2.81 billion ($2.62 billion). June exports were 6.86% higher compared to $2.63 billion in May FY27, Pharmexcil said.
India’s pharmaceutical exports in FY26 increased more than 2% YoY to $31.11 billion.
Published – August 13, 2026 08:56 pm IST
