Import growth rate of bulk drugs from China dips

India imported $3.18 billion worth of APIs and intermediates from China in 2022-23, up 1.74 per cent from the previous year, according to data from the Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council (Pharmexcil). In 2021-22, India imported $3.12 billion worth of APIs and intermediates from China, which was up 19.5 per cent from 2020-21. Therefore, the rate of growth has slowed down, but the imports continue at similar levels. On the other hand, India’s imports of bulk drugs and intermediates from the world (overall) came down by 4.54 per cent to $4.5 billion. This is in contrast to the previous year when they had grown by almost 23 per cent to $4.7 billion. Mr Uday Bhaskar, Director General of Pharmexcil, said that the effect of the PLI scheme-induced production capacity of bulk drugs would take another few years to show results on the ground, as per a report.