India's Top Global Exports: Smartphones Overtake Diamonds
May 21, 25
(IDEX Online) - Smartphones have overtaken polished diamonds to become India's second biggest global export.
Foreign sales for 2024-5 totaled $24.14bn, as the government's Production-Linked Incentive Scheme encouraged manufacturers - primarily Apple and Samsung - to set up facilities in India.
India's polished diamond sales for the same period were $13.3bn, down almost 17 per cent on the previous year as demand for natural stones remained weak.
The country's number one export by far remains petroleum products - predominantly diesel, petrol, and jet fuel - worth around $84bn last year.
Polished diamonds have long been India's second biggest-grossing exports. In 2022-3 exports were $18.2bn, compared to $10.96bn for smartphones.
But smartphone exports have surged in recent years, especially to the US and Japan.
Last year India's Department of Commerce reported that smartphone exports to the US had, for the first time, overtaken polished diamonds. It sold $2bn of smartphones in April to June 2024, compared to $1.44m of polished gem-quality diamonds.