Exports of bulk drugs, formulations, Ayurvedic preparations and crude drugs from India have registered a growth of around 24 per cent during the year 2000-2001, as compared to the year 1999-2000. For the year 2000-2001 India exported basic drugs and finished formulations worth Rs 8,720 crore as compared to Rs 7,048 crore in the corresponding period last year. In the very first month of the data showed that in the month of April-May 2000, India recorded a 40 per cent growth in exports of drugs pegged at Rs 1226 crore as compared to Rs 859 crore during the same period in the previous year.

During the year, exports of bulk drugs like norfloxacin and rifampicin went up by 600 and 300 per cent respectively while tetracycline and analgin exports fell by almost 800 and 400 per cent respectively as compared to its exports in the year 1999-2000. On the other hand, around 50 per cent of formulations exported from the country showed a negative growth. While some of the formulations' exports realization was down by 50 per cent in value, export of vaccines recorded a growth of 35 per cent for the year 2000-01.

Exports of bulk drugs went up by 36 per cent to Rs 2,203 crore during 2000-01 as against Rs 1,619 crore during the year 1999-2000, with most of the widely used bulk drugs recording a high in growth rate. Ampicillin touched Rs 127 crore this year compared to Rs 100 crore last year, amoxycillin crossed Rs 150 crore mark to reach at Rs 157 crore against Rs 146 crore last year. Rifampicin and cephalexin recorded Rs 59.80 crore and Rs 179 crore worth of exports this year as compared to Rs 14 crore and Rs 99 crore last year. For rifampicin, the export growth was more than 300 per cent this year.

India exported Rs 56 crore worth of gentamycin compared to Rs 27 crore in 1999-2000 while norfloxacin touched a high of 600 per cent growth rate at Rs 135 crore against Rs 23 crore last year. Exports of paracetamol went up roughly by 30 per cent to Rs 108 crore this year against Rs 76 crore in 1999-2000. Other drugs like tinidazole, metronidazole, mebendazole, pyridine and chlorpheniramine recorded export growth between 10-35 per cent for the year under consideration compared to last year. However drugs like tetracyline, cloxacilline, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, ciprofloxacine, ibuprofane, diazepam, nifedipine and ranitidine recorded negative growth in its exports.

Exports of tetracyline came down by 800 per cent to touch a low of Rs 17 crore this year compared to Rs 140 crore last year. Chloramphenicol exports came down from Rs 56 crore to Rs 51 crore this year while that of cloxacilline came down from Rs 340 crore to Rs 226 crore. Analgin exports also went down by 400 per cent to Rs 3.7 crore this year as against Rs 16.5 crore in 1999-2000. Erythromycin exports dropped by 150 per cent to Rs 60 crore against Rs 140 crore last year while ciprofloxacine recorded exports of Rs 412 crore this year against Rs 460 crore last year.

The exports of bulk drugs like ibuprofane, diazepam, nifedipine and ranitidine were also a hit this year due to their less demand internationally. Exports of ibuprofane went down by 10 per cent while diazepam came down by 100 per cent. Nifedipine recorded a drop in exports by 50 per cent whereas ranitidine exports were hit by only 6 per cent. Trimethoprim exports this year touched Rs 112 crore as compared to Rs 137 during 1999-2000, while sulphamethoxazole exports also suffered with its exports coming down to Rs 155 crore this year as against Rs 159 last year.

On the other hand the exports of finished formulations during the year 2000-2001 went up to Rs 3,770 crore as against Rs 3,639 crore last year showing a marginal growth rate of only 3.5 per cent. However the exports of vaccines for cholera, diphtheria, polio, tetanus, hepatitis, etc went up by 33 per cent to Rs 1,619 crore during the year under consideration as against Rs 1,275 crore last years.

Export of streptomycin capsules and injections touched Rs 9.97 crore this year against Rs 6.3 crore last year, while that of penicillin was at Rs 15 crore against Rs 8.9 crore, ampicillin was at Rs 91 crore against Rs 71 crore a year last, amoxycillin exports were at Rs 167 crore against Rs 159 crore last year, cloxacillin exports went up by Rs 56 crore this year to Rs 199 crore against Rs 158 crore during the last financial year.

Chloramphenicol caps and injection exports were roughly up by 50 per cent to touched Rs 49 crore against Rs 25 crore last year, while that of tetracyline and cephalexin went up marginally to Rs 14 crore and Rs 183 crore for the year 2000-01 against Rs 11 crore and Rs 160 crore respectively last year. Export of ciprofloxacin went up to Rs 63 crore this year against Rs 52 crore in 1999-2000, while analgin tabs, syrups and injections showed a rise of Rs 2.5 crore at Rs 11 crore this year against Rs 8.5 crore last year.

Paracetamol, ibuprofen, diazepam, norfloxacin, metronidazole, mebendazole exports went up from 20 per cent to 45 per cent this year compared to exports in the year 1999-2000. Exports of formulations such as erythromycin, rifampicin, gentamycin, nalidixic acid, sulphamethoxazole and trimethoprim, tinidazole, ranitidine and chlorpheniramine went down for the year 2000-2001 against the exports for the year 1999-2000.

However exports of formulations such as norfloxacin, tinidazole, rifampicin went down by 50 per cent this year while that of sulphamethoxazole and trimethoprim along with gentamycin showed a fall of 40 per cent for the year 2000-01 against the exports for the year 1999-2000.Crude drugs showed an export growth of 62 per cent for the year 2000-01. The exports touched Rs 316 crore this year against Rs 195 crore for the year 1999-2000.

The growth in exports was primarily due to the series of promotional activities of Chemexcil during the year and also with emergence of many new export markets in Latin America, Africa and Far-East.