India’s import bill is usually a story of crude oil, gold, electronics, machinery and the other big-ticket commodities needed to keep the economy running. But venture further down the country’s customs ledger and a rather different shopping list emerges, one that reaches into Indian wardrobes, living rooms and kitchens.
India imported nearly $85 million worth of used or hand-me-down clothing in 2025-26. It bought another $31.4 million of saffron stigma from abroad, despite Kashmir being home to one of the world’s best-known saffron varieties. Imports of tur or arhar dal were worth a far more substantial $947 million during the year.
The list extends beyond the pantry. Pet food for dogs and cats accounted for almost $141 million in imports, while paintings, drawings and pastels added another $61.5 million.
These purchases represent a rather tiny portion of India’s overall merchandise import bill of $775.71 billion, which grew 7.56% in FY26. Yet, when looked at in-depth, they tell an interesting story about what the world’s fastest-growing major economy still needs or increasingly chooses to buy from abroad.
Why does a textile-rich country import used clothes ?
India, one of the world’s largest textile and garment producers, imported $84.93 million worth of used clothing and other worn articles in FY26, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s TradeStat database. That was slightly higher than the $81.93 million imported a year earlier.
Notably, most of these imports came from the global north. The United States supplied $58.30 million worth of used clothing i.e. nearly seven of every ten dollars India spent on the category. Canada followed with $16.05 million. Together, the two countries accounted for almost 88% of India’s worn-clothing imports.
China, by comparison, supplied $2.21 million, followed by Italy at $1.78 million and the UAE at $1.49 million.
Top exporters of used clothes and worn articles to India
| Source country | FY26 imports ($ million) |
| United States | 58.30 |
| Canada | 16.05 |
| China | 2.21 |
| Italy | 1.78 |
| UAE | 1.49 |
| Total – all countries | 84.93 |
The numbers raise an obvious question: why does a country with one of the world’s largest textile industries import tens of millions of dollars worth of used clothes?
One explanation lies in India’s sizable textile-recycling ecosystem. Used clothes arriving in the country are not simply bought for resale in the growing thrift or second-hand clothing market. Some enter a much longer chain of sorting, reuse and recycling.
An assessment of India’s textile manufacturing and recycling ecosystem published by the Ministry of Textiles in April 2026 points to Panipat in Haryana as an important recycling cluster. Where organized businesses and informal operators turn discarded clothing into new products as part of India’s circular economy.
Workers in these units first sort clothes into re-usable and non-reusable categories. Clothes in usable condition may find their way into thrift and second-hand markets. Meanwhile, unusable fabric is shredded and spun into “shoddy” yarn, which is then woven into products like rugs, blankets and cushions that are subsequently sold to mostly overseas markets.
Kashmir grows prized saffron. So why does India import it?
Used clothes are not the only imports that appear to sit uneasily with India’s domestic strengths. Consider saffron, a spice closely associated with Kashmir. India imported $31.41 million worth of saffron stigma in FY26, up 35.16% from $23.24 million a year earlier. Almost all of it came from a single country.
Afghanistan supplied $29.06 million worth, accounting for around 92.5% of India’s saffron-stigma imports. The UAE was a distant second at $2.24 million.
Customs data also contain a separate category for “other saffron”. Imports under this classification rose 55.13% to $16.74 million in FY26, of which Afghanistan supplied $16.59 million.
Taken together, the two categories accounted for approximately $48.15 million of saffron-related imports. Around $45.65 million or nearly 95% came from Afghanistan. That may seem surprising for a country known for producing Kashmiri saffron.
According to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Kashmir-grown saffron is known for its deep colour and rich aroma and often commands a premium over other varieties. It also received a Geographical Indication tag in 2020. Production, however, is concentrated in a relatively small area and remains vulnerable to weather and water availability.
The trade figures, therefore, do not necessarily mean that imported saffron is replacing the Kashmiri variety on a like-for-like basis. Customs data divide saffron into different product lines but do not reveal the grade, end use or per-kilogram price of every shipment.
A 2026 NITI Aayog roadmap for Jammu and Kashmir’s horticulture sector noted that India had become the world’s third-largest saffron importer by value in 2024. It also highlighted a sharp rise in imports over the preceding decade, indicating strong domestic demand for saffron sourced from abroad.
The apparent contradiction is thus less puzzling than it first appears. A famous domestic variety does not guarantee sufficient supply across every grade, use and price point. Premium local production and large-scale imports can and do coexist. The broader pattern is nevertheless clear: India consumes enough saffron to import substantial quantities even while producing a prized variety of its own.
Why India imported nearly $1 billion worth of tur dal
If saffron occupies the premium end of the Indian spice box, tur dal is an everyday staple. Unlike saffron or used clothes, it is hardly an obscure import. But the scale of the trade and the distances the pulse travels make it one of the more revealing entries on India’s shopping list.
India imported $947.07 million worth of pigeon peas, better known as tur or arhar dal, in FY26. That was down 26.32% from the unusually high $1.29 billion imported a year earlier, but still amounted to nearly $1 billion.
The geography is striking. Mozambique was India’s largest supplier, selling $354.83 million worth of pigeon peas to the country. Myanmar supplied another $278.35 million, while Tanzania accounted for $203.73 million.
Together, the three countries provided roughly 88% of India’s import by value. Malawi, Sudan and Kenya were among the other suppliers. This means that a significant portion of the dal served in Indian kitchens began its journey thousands of kilometres away on farms across eastern and southern Africa or in Myanmar.
Top exporters of pigeon peas or Arhar dal to India
| Source country | FY26 imports ($ million) |
| Mozambique | 354.83 |
| Myanmar | 278.35 |
| Tanzania | 203.73 |
| Total – all countries | 947.07 |
The import figures therefore reflect the gap between India’s enormous appetite for pulses and what its farms can reliably produce in a given year. The Agriculture Ministry’s third advance estimate placed domestic tur production at about 3.59 million tonnes in 2025-26, same as the previous year.
While, the government is presently pursuing self-sufficiency through the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, which runs to 2030-31, it has not yet closed the import flows from eastern African nations to prevent price spikes and shortages that can occur from solely relying on domestic production.
What India’s $141-million appetite for imported pet food reveals
Not everything on India’s unusual import list reflects a shortage of domestic supply. Some entries point instead to new goods that Indian households are increasingly spending more on. India imported $140.96 million worth of dog and cat food packaged for retail sale in FY26, up 4.51% from $134.87 million a year earlier.
As per data posted by the Ministry of Commerce, this marks the second consecutive year where India’s imports of cat and dog food have grown over 4% in terms of value from the previous year.
Thailand dominated the trade, supplying $93.33 million worth roughly two-thirds of India’s total pet-food imports. Italy followed with $11.22 million, while France supplied $9.82 million. China and Indonesia accounted for another $5.22 million and $4.93 million, respectively.
Top exporters of cat and dog food to India
| Source country | FY26 imports ($ million) |
| Thailand | 93.33 |
| Italy | 11.22 |
| France | 9.82 |
| China | 5.22 |
| Indonesia | 4.93 |
| Total – all countries | 140.96 |
Unlike used clothing or saffron, these figures present no obvious paradox. Instead, they offer a glimpse of a consumer market built around pets in the country.
The customs category covers dog and cat food packaged for retail sale rather than bulk animal feed. The $141-million figure, therefore, largely represents finished products intended to be sold directly to pet owners.
Thailand’s dominance also reflects how the global industry is organised. The country is a major manufacturing and export hub for packaged pet food, supplying markets around the world. Its share of India’s imports is thus a product of both rising Indian demand and the concentration of global pet-food manufacturing in established production centres.
The scale is notable. India spent more on imported dog and cat food in FY26 than it did on used clothing or paintings and almost three times as much as on the two saffron categories combined.
$61-million spent on Art, drawings and pastels
India’s overseas shopping list extends from everyday consumer products to objects whose value can turn on the sale of a single work. Imports classified as “paintings, drawings and pastels” stood at $61.50 million in FY26, up 9.49% from $56.17 million a year earlier.
The United Kingdom was by far the largest source, accounting for $29.01 million, or about 47% of the total. The United States supplied another $15.27 million, followed by the UAE at $5.78 million and Hong Kong at $2.6 9 million.
| Source country | FY26 imports ($ million) |
| United Kingdom | 29.01 |
| United States | 15.27 |
| UAE | 5.78 |
| Hong Kong | 2.69 |
| Total – all countries | 61.50 |
These figures require more caution than those for pet food or pulses. A small number of expensive works can cause the annual total to rise or fall sharply. Furthermore, it becomes important for us to note here that the customs data solely records the country from which a work enters India, not necessarily the nationality of its artist or its original place of creation.
Hence, a painting by an Indian modernist bought at a London auction and brought back to India, for instance, would be recorded as an import from the UK. Which means that import data alone cannot establish how much of the $61.50 million represents foreign art, Indian works returning home or a handful of exceptionally valuable transactions.
What it does capture is the international route through which art reaches Indian collectors even when the work itself may have begun its journey in India.
What the small print of India’s import bill reveals
Together, these products accounted for just 0.17% of India’s $775.71-billion merchandise import bill in FY26. Their significance lies not in their weight in the total, but in what they reveal about the economy behind it.
Not every import represents a domestic failure to produce. Used clothing arrives as an input for India’s recycling industry. Afghan saffron serves grades and price points that limited supplies of premium Kashmiri saffron cannot meet. Tur imports help bridge the recurring gap between India’s appetite for pulses and the output of its farms.
Other entries capture changes in consumption and wealth. Imported pet food points to the emergence of a larger consumer market built around household spending on companion animals. Art imports reflect both the internationalisation of Indian collecting and the routes through which valuable works including Indian art move through global auction centres.
Seen this way, the customs ledger is not merely a record of money leaving the country. It is also a map of industrial supply chains, agricultural constraints, changing household preferences and India’s deeper integration with global markets.
Crude oil, gold and electronics dominate the headline import bill. But its smaller entries sometimes tell the more revealing story: not simply what India buys from the world, but the kind of economy it is becoming.