India’s pharmaceutical exporters added roughly three-quarters of a billion dollars in overseas sales in the first half of 2026-27, and the growth came from almost everywhere except the industry’s single largest market. Data released on 29 October by the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) put exports for April–September 2026 at USD 16.14 billion, up 4.90% from USD 15.38 billion in the same period of FY26.

The numbers at a glance

• H1 FY27 exports: USD 16.14 billion, up 4.90% year on year.
• Q2 FY27 (July–September): USD 8.04 billion, up 3.05% from USD 7.80 billion a year earlier.
• September 2026: USD 2,744.05 million, the highest monthly figure of the half-year and 4.68% above September 2025.
• Europe: USD 3.29 billion, up 9.66%, now 20.38% of total pharma exports.

Europe, ASEAN and Latin America carry the momentum

Within Europe, shipments to Germany grew 21.57%, while the Netherlands and France rose 15.93% and 15.02% respectively. Beyond Europe, exports to ASEAN countries climbed 21.54%, Latin America and the Caribbean recorded 16.58% growth and Africa grew 6.48%.

Pharmexcil did not publish a figure for the United States, but said shipments to that market moderated during the period, making the broader geographic spread the main reason overall exports kept growing. Industry observers quoted by ET Pharma linked the European gains to governments seeking to contain healthcare spending by switching from expensive brands to lower-cost generics and biosimilars through public procurement, which has helped Indian companies partly offset pricing pressure in the US.

Bulk drugs outpace formulations

Drug formulations and biologicals remained the backbone of the export basket at 73.84% of shipments, growing 3.81% year on year. The faster-moving segment was bulk drugs and drug intermediates, up 12.07%, while surgical product exports increased 9.53%. For India’s API and intermediates makers, the double-digit rise is a sign that overseas demand for Indian-made starting materials and ingredients continues to build.

Headwinds remain

The gains came despite continued supply-chain pressure linked to the prolonged West Asia crisis. According to industry executives cited by ET Pharma, many listed drugmakers are absorbing a margin hit of around 100–120 basis points from elevated solvent and crude oil prices.

Moving up the value chain

Pharmexcil Chairman Namit Joshi said India’s global reputation has been built on quality, affordable medicines and large-scale manufacturing, but the next phase should see Indian companies become “active partners in pharmaceutical innovation” rather than suppliers alone. “This will require greater investment in research and development, technology transfer and co-development of complex generics, biosimilars and specialised therapies,” he said, adding that Europe’s research ecosystem offers significant scope for such collaborations.

Vice Chairman Bhavin Mehta said the double-digit growth in bulk drugs and intermediates reflects the breadth of India’s manufacturing capability, and that continued investment in quality systems, advanced manufacturing and regulatory preparedness can help more exporters, including MSMEs, participate globally. The council said it will keep working with the government, industry and overseas regulators to strengthen market access and regulatory cooperation.

Why it matters

The half-year data reinforces a trend visible in several Q2 FY27 company results: Indian drugmakers are leaning harder on Europe, emerging markets and API supply to balance a softer, price-pressured US generics business. With formulation growth in low single digits, the push towards complex generics, biosimilars and higher-value products that Pharmexcil is urging may decide how quickly that diversification turns into faster export growth.

Photo: Ccmarathe / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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