India’s pharma exports rise 5.21% to $7.57 bn in Q1 FY26

In the last financial year pharmaceuticals exports increased 9.39% to $30.47 billion from $27.85 billion in FY 2023-24. 

Pharmaceutical exports rose 5.21 per cent to $7.57 billion in the first quarter of the current financial year compared to the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. The growth in exports during the quarter was led by formulations and biologics, according to pharmexcil data. 

“Indian pharmaceutical continues to solidify its pivotal role in the global healthcare landscape,’‘ Namit Joshi, Chairman, Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), said.

Apart from the NAFTA region, the growth in exports was also registered in Oceania, Latin American countries and Africa. 

The growth in exports was also offset by increasing pricing pressure in the US markets which hit both topline and bottomline of major drug-makers as reflected in their third quarter numbers. 

India’s imports during the quarter had also gone up by 4.21 per cent to $786 million compared to the year-ago period. The major categories of pharma products imported were bulk drugs and drug intermediaries which comprised 46 per cent of total pharma imports. 

However, a declining trend was noteworthy in this major segment of imports as the Government and industry has been trying to reduce dependency on imports which is one of the objectives of the Product-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.  

Road ahead

The industry has its fingers crossed on the growth in exports in the remaining quarters of the current financial year.

“While we expect the growth to continue in the rest of the year, there are challenges in the form of continuation of pricing pressure in the US market as well as the issue of tariffs which are exempted on drugs as of now. We need to wait and watch for the time being,’‘ said an executive director of a major pharma company.

In the last financial year pharmaceuticals exports increased 9.39 per cent to $30.47 billion from $27.85 billion in FY 2023-24.

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Published on August 24, 2025