Pharma exports fall in FY26; decline extends into Q1FY27

KARACHI: Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports fell sharply in FY26 and continued to decline in the first quarter of FY27, as disruption of trade with Afghanistan, once one of the country’s major markets for medicines, weighed on the sector’s export performance.

Pakistan exported pharmaceutical products worth USD319.012 million in FY26, down from USD457.456 million in FY25, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data.

The decline amounted to USD138.444 million. Export volumes also fell 26.14 percent, from 112,517 tonnes to 83,104 tonnes, a decrease of 29,413 tonnes.

The decline continued in July-September FY27, with export earnings falling to USD73.301 million from USD98.428 million in the corresponding quarter of FY26, a decrease of USD25.127 million, or 25.53 percent.

The quantity exported dropped 31.40 percent, from 23,924 tonnes to 16,410 tonnes, a reduction of 7,514 tonnes.

The figures show that export volumes contracted faster than earnings in both periods. On a simple calculation, the average declared export value per tonne rose by about 8.6 percent in the first quarter, from approximately USD4,115 to USD4,469.

However, the average fell by about 5.6 percent in FY26, from around USD4,065 to USD3,838. These averages may reflect changes in the mix of products exported and should not be interpreted as direct measures of medicine prices.

The figures exclude surgical goods and medical instruments. Exports of these products rose 8.8 percent to USD121 million in the first quarter of FY27, while annual exports remained unchanged at USD451.527 million in FY26.

Afghanistan had been a major destination for Pakistani medicines before the trade disruption. Destination-wise figures on the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan’s (TDAP) Pakistan Pharma Portal, sourced from PRAL, show that Pakistan exported pharmaceutical products worth $155.68 million to Afghanistan in FY25, accounting for approximately 34.1 percent of the country’s total pharmaceutical exports of USD457.456 million that year.

Talking to Business Recorder, Dr Kaiser Waheed, former chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (PPMA), said pharmaceutical production had declined by around 1 percent, according to PBS data, while disruption of trade with Afghanistan was a major factor affecting pharmaceutical exports.

He said Pakistan exported around USD120 million worth of pharmaceutical products to Afghanistan annually through formal trade channels, with consignments transported by trucks and cleared through customs.

However, he said he had no estimate of the volume of exports through informal channels or the number of pharmaceutical units affected by the trade disruption.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026