Avocado, dragon fruit imports on the rise as India's appetite for 'luxury foods' grow

Rising incomes are pushing truffles, avocado imports

Indians have worked up quite an appetite for the so-called exotic foods — they consumed 4 million kg of avocados in the first six months of 2024.

This marks a 28-fold increase from the 140,600 kg imported in the first half of 2019 (the year prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic) and a staggering 264-fold rise from the mere 15,170 kg imported during the first half of 2015. The buttery fruit native to Mexico is now widely cultivated in India and other parts of the world.

But Indian's taste for the exotic now extends beyond avocado toast and guacamole. A Moneycontrol analysis shows that imports of foods such as dragon fruits and extra virgin olive oil have also jumped manifold over the last decade, coinciding with a growing middle class with more disposable income.

Indians now consume 65 percent more imported extra virgin olive than they did two years ago.

“Rising income, social media and health consciousness are driving consumption. Also, the snob effect for the affluent,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda.

"Snob effect" is people buying more of a commodity when its value jumps.

Import of fresh fruits such as cranberries and dragon fruit were almost unheard of until 2015. In the first half of 2018,  4.2 million kilos of such fruits were shipped into India and have since risen six times to 25.9 million kilos. Grapefruits, pomelos and mandarin imports are up six times since 2015.

Taste for truffles

Truffle imports have increased seven times by volumes in the last decade, preserved olive trade has doubled.

“These are high-end food items, which are consumed by the upper income households whose income growth is better much better than the lower-end ones,” said Paras Jasrai, senior analyst, India Ratings and Research.

Indians love for Italian and eastern delicacies is also reflected in the growing list of imported foods. Pasta imports have jumped five times over the last decade, while soy sauce is up 19 times.

India imported over 1.5 million litres of soy sauce in the first six months of 2024.

Experts indicate that quick commerce may also be some effect, making availability of these items easy.

Food imports have increased 1.8 times over the last decade, fruits 1.5 times and while vegetable volumes increased 1.8 times.

Prepared food products have witnessed a 2.3-times jump during this period.