NEW DELHI: Drug exports from India shot up 30.7% for the first 10 months of 2008-09 ended January 2009 compared with the previous year, backed by weak Indian currency and increased demand for low-cost generic medicines.
Indian drugmakers exported medicines worth Rs 31,608 crore during April 2008-January 2009, which was even higher than exports worth Rs 29,139 crore for the fiscal 2007-08, as per figures compiled by Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), a government body that oversees drug exports.
“In dollar terms, pharma exports touched $6.99 billion against $6.08 billion during the same period growing at 16.4%,” said Pharmexcil executive director PV Appaji.
The growth comes even as exports to the US market, the world’s largest market, has shown negative in the past two months. Exports to the US market dropped 13% in December and January, the past two months for which data is available, to Rs 1,263 crore.
Mr Appaji explained, “The US sales have been negatively affected by the US drug regulators decision to ban 30 drugs made by Ranbaxy, one of the largest exporters of Indian drugs to the country.”
Moreover, total exports also dipped in the dollar value for January. In January, exports grew 11.5% to Rs 2,917 crore compared with Rs 2,617 crore in the same month last year. But, in the dollar terms, exports during the month declined 10.1% to $597.38 million. This is because of the sharp appreciation in the value of dollar, which had risen almost 25% during the period. The rupee has since then strengthened investment flows into the country.
Meanwhile, Russia has edged past Germany as the second-largest market for Indian drugmakers. Exports to Germany for the 10-month ended January 2009 stood at Rs 1,105 crore against Rs 1,197 crore for Russia.
Indian companies export drugs to over 200 countries, but the top 25 markets, which includes the US, Germany, Russia, China and few European and African countries, account for about half of the total. Among the top 25 countries, exports for January declined for 18 countries in the dollar value, with the biggest drop in Germany (-34.92%), Spain (-35.21) and Brazil (-30.74%).
Source : The Economic Times