Spices down, sweets up. How Indian ready-to-eat is storming western palates
India's electronics, pharma, engineering goods exports beat global trade slowdown during FY24 Meanwhile, RTE imports have grown marginally, from $304.96 million in FY2019 to $360.37 million in FY24. The FY24 figure marks a fall in imports of 13.6% from the previous fiscal year. “Reduction in imports indicates changing domestic consumption patterns, and increased local production," Srivastava said.
Queries emailed to the commerce ministry spokesperson remained unanswered till press time. Experts said the surge in demand can be attributed to the convenience, diverse flavours and high-quality ingredients that Indian products offer, which is aligned with the fast-paced lifestyle of Western consumers. In particular, Indian breakfast cereals, sweets and snacks have become popular choices in Western markets.
According to commerce ministry data, the export of breakfast cereals shot up by 53.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to touch $106 million in FY24, following a 38.2% y-o-y rise in FY23 to $68.88 million. Likewise, the export of Indian sweets and snacks rose 30.7% y-o-y in FY24 to touch $694.83 million. In FY23, it had risen 8.5% y-o-y.
The major export destinations for Indian RTE foods items are the US, the UK, UAE, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Germany, Japan and Netherlands, among others. “The awareness and appreciation of Indian products are deeply ingraining themselves into the minds of people abroad," said Jigish Devta, managing director of Deepkiran Foods, an Ahmedabad-based exporter of ready-to-eat food items. “There has been a notable shift in perception; whereas previously, foreign consumers might have turned to Indian cuisine out of necessity due to a lack of their own native options, now they choose Indian
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