The most valuable Indian imports also include unrefined gold and diamonds. Mobile phones and computers are other products for which India continues to show strong demand.
The following list shows on which product categories Indian importers spent the most. Unlike most information currently available on the web, the items below are detailed at the 4-digit tariff code level.
This level of granularity can help entrepreneurs identify more precisely which products in which India has strong demand but competitive disadvantages compared with other nations. Innovation can transform these disadvantages into lucrative business opportunities.
For the most recent four-digit HTS code data, please see the link to India’s Top 10 Imports article in the See also paragraph above Research Sources below.
Highest Value Indian Import Products
Below are the 20 highest value import products delivered to Indian importers in 2017. Shown within brackets is the change in value for each imported product over the 5-year period starting in 2013.
- Crude oil: US$82 billion (Down -44.6% from 2013 to 2017)
- Gold (unwrought): $36.1 billion (Down -4.2%)
- Diamonds (unmounted/unset): $27.3 billion (Up 20.5%)
- Phone system devices including smartphones: $20.6 billion (Up 88.9%)
- Coal, solid fuels made from coal: $20.1 billion (Up 34.5%)
- Petroleum gases: $13.1 billion (Down -8.3%)
- Palm oil: $6.8 billion (Down -2.8%)
- Computers, optical readers: $5.6 billion (Up 20.9%)
- Solar power diodes/semi-conductors: $5.1 billion (Up 226.5%)
- Automobile parts/accessories: $4.4 billion (Up 25.1%)
- Dried shelled vegetables: $3.9 billion (Up 71.7%)
- Copper ores, concentrates: $3.9 billion (Down -47.6%)
- Processed petroleum oils: $3.8 billion (Down -13.2%)
- Pearls: $3.2 billion (Up 443%)
- Silver (unwrought): $3 billion (Down -33.4%)
- Soya-bean oil: $2.8 billion (Up 130.6%)
- Ethylene polymers: $2.7 billion (Up 25.6%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $2.7 billion (Up 123.8%)
- Iron or steel scrap: $2.5 billion (Down -21.8%)
- Turbo-jets: $2.3 billion (Up 281.3%)
Among these product subcategories, imported pearls posted the greatest purchase increase by India via a 443% gain in value from 2013 to 2017.
In second place were imported turbo-jets, thanks to a 281.3% improvement.
India’s imports of solar power diodes and semi-conductors showed a respectable 226.5% increase, trailed by a 130.6% boost for import purchases of Indian soya-bean oil over the 5-year period.
Leading the decliners was copper ores and concentrates (down -47.6%), followed by crude oil (down -44.6%) and Indian imports of silver (down -33.4%).
See also India’s Top 10 Imports, India’s Top 10 Exports, India’s Top Trading Partners and Top Indian Trade Balances
Research Sources:
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 27, 2018
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Imports and World Population, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on March 27, 2018
Trade Map, International Trade Centre, www.intracen.org/marketanalysis. Accessed on March 27, 2018