Pharmaceutical products from India occupied up to 5.2 per cent share in the total exports from the country over the last five years, with United States remaining the top destination for Indian drugs, according to the latest data compiled by Pharmexcil.

Formulations accounted for 55 per cent of the total exports of pharma products while basic drugs, fine chemicals and intermediates together had a share of 43 per cent over the past years. The herbal products from the country accounted for just two per cent, according to the data with the Pharmexcil research wing.

The total exports of pharma during the year 2007-08 stood at 7.24 billion dollar which recorded 22.45 per cent growth over the previous year. Against the exports revenue of 3313 million dollars in 2003-04, the pharma exports brought home 7639 million dollars during 2007-08.

Exports to United States accounted for 19 per cent in the total quantity. All American region put together had consumed 21 per cent of the total pharma goods exported from the country. All European countries together also attracted 21 per cent of pharma products.

African countries together had 14 per cent share while CIS countries accounted for 7 per cent of the total export volume from India. Middle East with 9 per cent share, Asean countries with 7 per cent, and South Asia with 4 per cent share became other prominent destinations for Indian pharma products, the Pharmexcil data showed.

Still India had a meagre share in the global exports market. Against 7.2 billion dollar of Indian pharma exports, Germany gained 44 billion from the global market through exports during the year 2007-08. Belgium accounted for 38 billion dollars while Switzerland had 31 billion dollars. America, which India's prime destination, collected 29 billion from the world export market.

North America with a size of 223.3 billion dollars remained the biggest market for pharma products in the world during the year of 2008, followed by United States with 206.5 billion dollars. Top five countries (Germany, France, UK, Italy and Spain) in Europe together offered a market size worth 114.3 billion dollars, given the sales through retail pharmacies.