Top 30 Most Imported Products in India

India has seen rapid economic growth in recent decades, becoming one of the world’s fastest growing economies. This growth has led to an increase in demand for imported products to meet the needs of India’s expanding consumer class.

In this blog post, we will look at the top 30 most products imported in india by import share percentage and import value. Understanding the products imported into India provides insight into the country’s economic priorities and consumer trends.

Overview of India’s Import Market

India relies heavily on imports to satisfy domestic demand. Some key facts about India’s import market:

• Total imports in 2020 were estimated at $461.7 billion, making India the world’s second largest importer after China.
• India’s main imports are crude oil, gold, coal, electronic goods, fertilizers, machinery, gems and jewelry, vegetable oil, chemicals, and plastic.
• The country imports 75% of its crude oil and 25% of its natural gas requirements.
• India imports nearly all of its gold demand since domestic gold production is negligible.

So imports play a vital role in fueling India’s booming economy. Let’s look at the top products imported.

Top 30 Most Imported Products in India

1. Mineral Fuels Including Oil: This includes crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), gasoline, diesel, and other oils. India imports over 75% of its oil needs, mostly from the Middle East. Annual imports are projected to rise to $320 billion by 2040. Iraq and Saudi Arabia are the top oil suppliers.
2. Gems and Jewelry: India is a major center for diamond cutting and polishing. The gems and jewelry industry imports uncut diamonds and precious metals from UAE, Hong Kong, and other nations. India fulfills nearly all its gold demand through imports. Annual gems imports total $65-70 billion with rough diamonds comprising over 80% of gem imports.
3. Electronic Items: India imports integrated circuits (ICs), microprocessors, transistors, phones, computer equipment, peripherals, measuring/testing instruments, and communications equipment. Annual imports total $42 billion with China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam as top suppliers. India also has major electronics manufacturing incentives under programs like Make in India to drive domestic production.
4. Machinery Including Computers: India imports industrial machinery, computer and IT hardware, Office and accounting machinery, textiles/food processing machines, consumer appliances, printing/packaging machinery, pumps, construction and farming equipment. Top suppliers are China, Germany, USA, and Japan. Annual machinery imports total $40 billion.
5. Organic Chemicals: Organic chemicals like petrochemicals, aromatics, alcohols, phenols, and related chemical compounds and products are imported at $18 billion annually from China, USA, Singapore, and other sources. These are used as inputs for India’s expanding industries.
6. Medical/Technical Equipment: Key imports are electrodiagnostic apparatus, laboratory and scientific testing equipment, optical precision instruments, and medical devices like orthopedic appliances. Top suppliers are Germany and USA with annual imports totaling $12 billion.
7. Plastics: India is reliant on imports of most plastic raw materials like styrene, butadiene, polypropylene, PVC resins, polyamides etc, as well as plastic articles. China and Taiwan supply 60% of plastic imports valued at $11.5 billion per year. This is driven by rising domestic demand for consumer goods, packaging, construction and automobiles using plastics.
8. Animal/Vegetable Fats & Oils: This includes edible oils like palm oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil which supplement India’s domestic edible oil production. Top suppliers Indonesia and Malaysia export $11 billion worth of fats & oils annually to fulfill India’s food security needs.
9. Electrical Machinery: Imports include electrical transformers, static converters, batteries, wires/cabling, switches, relays and associated components/parts used across infrastructure and various industries. Top suppliers China and Vietnam export $10.6 billion annually.
10. Iron and Steel: Steel items like stainless steel bars, flat rolled products, plates, sheets, rods and beams are imported to bolster India’s domestic steel industry in meeting rapid urbanization-driven growth in construction, infrastructure and automobile manufacturing. Top sources China, South Korea and Taiwan supply $10 billion annually.
11. Fertilizers: With over 50% of India’s population employed in agriculture, fertilizers including nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium imports total $8.3 billion annually from suppliers like Saudi Arabia, China, Qatar and Canada. India aims to expand domestic fertilizer production to reduce imports and support food security.
12. Vehicles Including Cars: India imports fully built cars, vehicle parts and components. Annual imports total $8.3 billion with top suppliers Japan, Germany, South Korea catering to leading auto manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Kia Motors which have major production bases in India.
13. Dairy Products: This includes milk powder, casein, whey and yogurt concentrate used as ingredients in India’s food processing industry to make products like cheese, chocolate, biscuits and baby food. Top suppliers New Zealand and USA export $6.9 billion worth annually.
14. Cereals: India is the world’s 2nd largest rice exporter but at times imports items like non-basmati rice, maize, wheat and meslin flour to ensure sufficient stocks. Imports total $6.4 billion annually with key sources being Myanmar, Ukraine, Thailand and Russia.
15. Aluminium: India imports aluminium ores, scrap and both unwrought & wrought aluminium plus downstream products as domestic production does not fulfill rapidly rising aluminium demand across sectors like construction, consumer goods and autos. Imports total $6 billion annually with Australia, Qatar and Malaysia being lead suppliers.
16. Essential Oils and Resinoids: India has a long history of using essential oils, but rising demand along with limitations in local supply has led to growing imports of essential oils for aromatic, beauty, food, and pharmaceutical applications. Key imports include mint, citrus fruit, eucalyptus, rose and other flower oils which total around $3 billion annually. Top suppliers include USA, China, Singapore, and France. These imported essential oils are used in India’s cosmetics, food flavors, fragrances and natural therapies sectors serving a growing middle class consumer base as well as small manufacturers focused on exports.
17. Coffee, Tea & Spice Extracts: India is among the world’s biggest consumers of tea. Rising demand drives imports of items like caffeine, tea extracts/essences & instant tea. Vietnam and Indonesia supply 60% of the $5.5 billion imports. Spice oleoresins and essential oils are also imported in large quantities.
18. Salt, Sulphur, Earth & Stone: India lacks reserves of minerals like potash, phosphate, graphite and rare earths used as industrial raw materials & fertilizers, so depends on imports totaling $5.5 billion annually with key sources being Jordan, Saudi Arabia, China, South Africa and Canada. Marble granite and limestone imports also support construction demand.
19. Fish and Crustaceans: India has one of the world’s largest fish farming industries but is also importing more seafood to meet rising demand. Key imports (frozen shrimp, frozen fish fillets etc) total $4.6 billion annually from USA, China, Chile and Vietnam for domestic consumption and processing/exports.
20. Pharmaceutical Products: India’s has world’s 3rd largest pharmaceutical industry by volume but rising demand and push into novel drugs is driving increased inputs import like bulk drugs, drug formulations, medicaments and vaccines totaling $4.1 billion annually from leading suppliers Switzerland, Germany and USA.
21. Fruit and Nuts: India lacks cold storage infra needed to preserve large fruit harvests while rising incomes drive demand for imported fruits. Annual imports of items like orchids, shelled almonds, persimmons, melons, berries, grapes, oranges total $4.1 billion with top suppliers being Afghanistan, USA, Australia.
22. Wood and Wood Products: India’s import needs for wood and paper industry raw materials like wood pulp, newsprint, packaging materials totals around $3.7 billion annually. Key suppliers are New Zealand, Thailand, China and Malaysia meeting paper industry demand benefiting from rising ecommerce shipments.
23. Rubber and Articles: Natural rubber and related products are imported totaling $3.2 billion annually to support India’s large tires and rubber goods manufacturing sector. Vietnam and Indonesia are lead suppliers of block rubber, latex, plates, sheets and strips.
24. Paper and Paperboard: India lacks sufficient raw material sources to meet rising paper demand so relies on imports of wood pulp, newsprint, coated paper and other paper products totaling $3.2 billion annually from Indonesia, Canada, USA and other sources.
25. Ships and Boats: India imports specialized vessels like dredgers, floating cranes, oil tankers and drilling ships as well as tug boats, ferries, small cargo ships and trawlers with annual imports totaling $2.8 billion as coastal and inland water transport expands. Leading sources are Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Japan.
26. Printed Books and Newspapers: Books, children’s picture books, dictionaries and newspapers worth $2.8 billion are imported annually to meet educational and readership demands. United Kingdom and China are large suppliers of books while USA and Canada provide imported newspaper print feeds catering to large Indian diaspora audiences.
27. Sugars and Confectionery: India has a well developed sugar and confectionery production base, but rising demand also drives imports of raw, refined and flavored sugars plus sweet biscuits, cakes, cocoa preparations etc totaling $2.3 billion annually from suppliers Thailand, Malaysia, Italy and Turkey.
28. Textiles and Fabrics: India’s globally competitive textiles industry relies on imports of specialized fibers like wool, silk, cashmere and blends plus high tech technical textiles totaling $2.3 billion annually. China, Vietnam and Taiwan are lead suppliers providing inputs to both domestic firms and export-focused garment manufacturers.
29. Meat and Meat Products: Buffalo meat, pork and animal fats imports help supplement India’s large domestic meat industry in meeting rising protein demand from a mushrooming middle class and fast food chains. Top suppliers Australia, Brazil and USA export $1.8 billion annually.
30. Iron and Steel Articles: Key imports include stainless steel utensils & tableware, wires, tubes, bolts, screws and miscellaneous cast iron and steel industry products amounting to $1.8 billion annually from sources China, Germany, Taiwan and South Korea as India’s steel product manufacturing base expands.

Below I have compiled a table outlining the top 30 products imported in India ranked by total import share percentage of India’s overall imports:

Sr	Product Name	Total Import Share %	Total Import Value (Billions)	Top Import Countries
1	Mineral fuels including oil	36.8%	$170.3	Iraq, Saudi Arabia
2	Gems and jewelry	15.0%	$69.0	UAE, Hong Kong
3	Electronic items	9.2%	$42.3	China, Hong Kong
4	Machinery incl computers	8.7%	$40.0	China, Germany
5	Organic chemicals	3.9%	$18.0	China, USA
6	Medical/Technical equipment	2.6%	$12.0	Germany, USA
7	Plastics	2.5%	$11.5	China, Singapore
8	Animal/Vegetable fats & oils	2.4%	$11.0	Indonesia, Malaysia
9	Electrical machinery	2.3%	$10.6	China, Germany
10	Iron & steel	2.2%	$10.1	China, South Korea
11	Fertilisers	1.8%	$8.3	China, Saudi Arabia
12	Vehicles incl cars	1.8%	$8.3	Germany, Japan
13	Dairy products	1.5%	$6.9	New Zealand, USA
14	Cereals	1.4%	$6.4	Ukraine, Russia
15	Aluminium and articles	1.3%	$6.0	China, UAE
16	Essential Oils and Resinoids	1.1%	$3	USA, China, Singapore, France
17	Coffee, tea extract	1.2%	$5.5	Vietnam, Indonesia
18	Salt, sulphur, stone	1.2%	$5.5	Israel, Canada
19	Fish & crustaceans	1.0%	$4.6	USA, Vietnam
20	Pharmaceutical products	0.9%	$4.1	Switzerland, USA
21	Fruit & nuts	0.9%	$4.1	Afghanistan, USA
22	Wood & wood products	0.8%	$3.7	New Zealand, Malaysia
23	Rubber & articles	0.7%	$3.2	Indonesia, Vietnam
24	Paper/paperboard	0.7%	$3.2	Indonesia, USA
25	Ships, boats	0.6%	$2.8	Japan, Hong Kong
26	Printed books, newspapers	0.6%	$2.8	UK, China
27	Sugars and sugar products	0.5%	$2.3	Brazil, Indonesia
28	Textile yarn, fabrics	0.5%	$2.3	China, Hong Kong
29	Meat and edible meat offal	0.4%	$1.8	Australia, Brazil
30	Articles of iron or steel	0.4%	$1.8	China, Japan

Some key observations:

• Oil and related products account for over one-third of India’s imports reflecting the country’s rapidly growing energy needs. Iraq and Saudi Arabia supply the majority of these oil imports.
• Gems and jewelry make up India’s 2nd biggest import, primarily coming from the UAE and Hong Kong. India is a major global hub for cutting and polishing diamonds.
• Electronic goods, machinery, vehicles, medical equipment and fertilizers make up India’s other major imports, with China, USA, Japan and Germany being leading sources.
• Food items like vegetable oils, dairy products and fruit account for significant imports as India aims to boost food security.

So in summary, India relies heavily on foreign countries for much of its fuel, gold, electronic items, vehicles and machinery, chemicals and food ingredients – powering domestic economic growth.

Now let’s look at some potential business opportunities these major imports present:

• Oil exploration and export – Tapping into India’s massive and growing demand for crude oil and natural gas through joint ventures or export contracts.
• Electronic manufacturing – Catering to India’s bourgeoning consumer electronics and smartphone markets by setting up manufacturing hubs under the Make in India initiative.
• Auto manufacturing – Partnering with Indian firms to manufacture vehicles locally to meet fast rising vehicle demand.
• Food processing – Providing technology, expertise and investment to help process and preserve imported foods like dairy, fruits and vegetables.
• Technical equipment – Supplying specialized machinery, medical devices and testing equipment to India’s healthcare, technology and engineering sectors.

The list goes on – India offers exciting import-driven opportunities across sectors.

Conclusion

India has firmly established itself as one of the world’s largest import markets across a diverse range of goods – from oil and gold that fuel economic growth, to fruits and nuts that feed its vast population.

This reliance on imports looks set to continue as India’s consumer markets continue expanding. Hopefully this breakdown of the top 30 imported products provides insight into where potential export and partnership opportunities lie.

Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions around the import products covered!