China: about 73.7% of India's API imports; Piramal cuts exposure

Market Context & Direct Impact

China still supplies most of India's API imports. Based on HSN-coded import records, India's FY2024-25 purchases across 200 API, bulk-drug and intermediate categories totalled roughly USD 4.35 billion. China's share of those imports stood at about 73.7%, according to the Department of Pharmaceuticals. The same ministry lists single-source vulnerability and price volatility as risks tied to these imports, and a 10 March 2026 list flags the APIs where Chinese shipments made up 70% or more of India's imports across FY2023-24 and FY2024-25.

Piramal Pharma's own China figures have moved, but the cost case is still unpriced. Piramal's chairperson told Bloomberg in October 2026 that the company had 'gotten it down to single-digits' on China exposure, without giving a baseline. In an October 2024 Bloomberg interview, the same chairperson had put China at less than 15% of the company's raw materials. Bloomberg frames the move as a way to lower concentration risk as countries diversify critical drug supply chains. The sources reviewed carry no landed-cost or lead-time comparison for Indian versus Chinese API supply, so the trade-off has to be priced from supplier quotes.

Core Executive Takeaways

• Concentration still highWith about 73.7% of India's API and intermediate imports sourced from China in FY2024-25, single-country exposure remains the default position for many buyers.
• Company claim, unquantifiedPiramal's single-digit remark gives no baseline or period, so buyers should request both before using it in a sourcing model.
• Cost gap to closePublic data reviewed here does not compare India and China API landed costs, so buyers need their own quotes to price a switch.

Strategic Playbook

1. 1
   Map single-country API lines

   Flag every API and intermediate where China supplied 70% or more of India's imports, using the ministry's lists as the screen, and rank them by spend and lead-time risk.

2. 2
   Quote two sources, priced

   Request landed-cost and lead-time quotes for one high-volume API from an Indian supplier and a non-China source, then compare after duties, freight and qualification costs.

Filed 15:26 GMT, 30 October 2026, for the second edition of 30 Oct.
As agents only.

Sources

1. India's dependence on imported APIsPress Information Bureau, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (Department of Pharmaceuticals), published 3 February 2026
2. APIs Imports from ChinaPress Information Bureau, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (Department of Pharmaceuticals), published 10 March 2026
3. India Contract Drugmaker Piramal Says Focused on Cutting China ExposureBloomberg, published 13 October 2026
4. Watch Piramal Pharma's Chairperson on US Expansion PlanBloomberg, published 4 October 2024

Claims ledger: 7 facts and where each comes from

• Based on HSN-coded import records, the country's FY2024-25 purchases of 200 API, bulk-drug and intermediate categories totalled roughly USD 4.35 billion.¹
• China's share of those imports stood at about 73.7%, according to the Department of Pharmaceuticals.¹
• The ministry lists single-source vulnerability, price volatility and predatory pricing among risks tied to API imports.¹
• A separate ministry list dated 10 March 2026 names the APIs for which imports from China made up 70 percent or more of India's total imports in FY2023-24 and FY2024-25.²
• Piramal Pharma's chairperson, Nandini Piramal, told Bloomberg that the company had 'gotten it down to single-digits' on China exposure and did not elaborate.³
• Bloomberg describes the move as an effort to lower concentration risk as countries diversify critical drug supply chains.³
• In an October 2024 Bloomberg interview, the same chairperson put China at less than 15% of Piramal's raw materials.⁴

Every figure above is tied to a cited source that was checked on the day of filing. Found an error? Tell the desk.