The commerce ministry has given an in-principle approval for the formation of Pharmexcil to promote exports in the pharmaceutical industry.
Till now the pharma exports would come under the Chemexcil, which was also looking at the exports of chemicals, fertilisers and other related products such as incense. Pharmaceuticals consist of more than 50 per cent of the exports for Chemexcil.
This was one of the agenda items that the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) is pushing with the ministry for inclusion in the drug policy, expected to be released soon. The final decision on this promotional council is expected in the first week of November.
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Currently, pharmaceutical exports earned a total of Rs 8700 crore and can see an incremental growth of up to Rs 25,000 crore say industry experts. But the last few months have seen a slackening in the growth of pharma exports.
This growth rate, which has turned negative for some sectors, has come down to approximately 15 per cent for the pharma industry. Since the domestic market has an overall growth rate of 3-4 per cent, many of the domestic players would prefer exports contributing in a big way to their bottomline.
In its submission to the ministry, the IDMA says that since exporters from India are facing pressure due various factors such as Chinese dumping, international political upheavals and tensions as well as shortage of foreign exchange in other emerging markets, it makes the need of a promotional body much more imperative.