India’s pharma and medical device industry is expanding its footprint in the key markets of US, UK and Italy gaining market share at the expense of its competitors, according to data analysis by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
India is the third largest import source of medicine put up for retail sale in the US. In 2023 it was the only one among top 3 suppliers that expanded its market share while the top two – Ireland and Switzerland – saw an erosion. Now it is within striking distance of being the top exporter of medicines put up for retail sales in the US as the gains made in 2023 had brought it very close to the top two suppliers.
India increased its exports of medicines to the US to $ 9.08 billion in 2023 from $ 7.33 billion in 2022. With this increase India’s share went up to 13.1% in 2023 from 10.08% from 2022. Share of the top exporter Ireland fell to 13.85% in 2023 from 17.18% in 2022 because its sales in the US went down to $ 9.5 in 2023 billion from $ 12.5 billion in 2023.
The second biggest exporter Switzerland also saw its share go down to 13.7% in 2023 from 17.4% in 2022. As an import source in the US market sales by Switzerland fell to $ 9.5 billion in 2023 from $ 12 billion in 2022. Now the top three exporters are selling around $ 9 billion of medicines to the US.
Similarly India has increased its share among exporters of antibiotics in the Italian market. It is ranked 10th in that market but increased its share to 2.12% in 2023 from 0.96% in 2022. In value terms antibiotics exports to Italy were $ 23.34 million in 2023 up from $ 11.48 million in 2022.
India’s competitiveness is growing in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Apparatus market of Germany. In 2023 it made a small gain by increasing its share of that market to 1.7% from 0.45% in 2022. In value terms these exports stood at $ 13.02 million from $ 2.93 million in 2022. India is the sixth largest exporter to the market of the MRI apparatus where the UK is the leader with the exports of $ 460 million.
“Penetrating the EU market is difficult and it is important that we have a base coming in. These reflect some efforts which are being put in terms of monitoring various markets and various commodities to see where growth can be pushed,” a senior commerce ministry official said.
Pharma and medical devices manufacturing is the priority area for the government and these two sectors were the first ones to get a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. Despite the challenges, the drugs and pharma sector is one of the few sectors whose exports have grown every month since January 2024.
(Source- The Financial Express)
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