China continues to hold its sway over India’s bulk drugs and drug intermediaries market, accounting 66.48 per cent i.e. Rs 17,610 crore of the total Rs 26,490 crore imports  executed in the first nine months of the fiscal 2021-22.

According to data from the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, last year when India’s pharma sector reported nearly 10 per cent growth, the imports of bulk drugs from China also reported a significant growth in terms of actual numbers, while in percentage of overall imports it remained the same,

In the beginning of April, India imported 3.02 lakh million tonnes of bulk drugs and drug intermediates worth Rs 26,490 crore in the nine months from April to December, 2021.

As per the data, during 2020-21, the total imports were 3.90 lakh metric tonnes of bulk drugs and drug intermediates, worth around Rs 28,529 crore. Out of this, the Chinese imports were of Rs 19,403 crore, accounting to 68.01 per cent. In  2019-20, the imports were to the tune of 3.64 lakh MT, worth Rs 24,172 crore, of which Rs 16,443 crore (68.02 per cent) was from China.

Minister of State of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Bhagwanth Khuba, recently said in Parliament that the Indian Pharmaceutical industry is 3rd largest in the world by volume. India exported pharmaceuticals worth Rs 1,80,551 crore in 2020-21. India exported bulk drugs/drug intermediates worth Rs 32,857 crore in the financial year 2020-21. However, the country also imports various bulk drugs/active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for producing medicines from various countries including China.

“Most of the imports of the bulk drug/APIs are economic considerations and also, China is one of the largest producers of KSMs and API in the world. The Committee, constituted by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, observed that there are 58 APIs, for which, the dependency of the country on imports from China for these APIs varies from 50% to 100%,” said the Minister in Lok Sabha. According to the Government “The imports from China are mainly due to economic considerations.”

The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has also set up a panel under the chairmanship of Eshwara Reddy, Joint Drugs Controller, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), to address the issue of drug security in the country in the context of the Covid-19 outbreak in China.

Also, the DoP has written to the DGFT, asking it to restrict exports of 13 APIs and formulations. The NPPA has also written to the chief secretaries of States, requesting them to closely monitor the production and availability of APIs and formulations to prevent black-marketing and hoarding.