Festive demand lifts dry fruit, chocolate imports this season

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The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now. Read Today's Paper Festive demand lifts dry fruit, chocolate imports this seasonBy Anoushka Sawhney & Kirtika Suneja, ET BureauLast Updated: Nov 04, 2026, 01:05:00 AM ISTSynopsis

During the festive season, India's import of tree nuts and chocolates rose significantly, reflecting a 10-12% annual demand increase. The reduction in goods and services tax has made these gourmet products more accessible to consumers. In 2025, dry fruit imports during this period accounted for a substantial share of annual purchases.

New Delhi: Imported tree nuts, chocolates, honey-coated nuts and butter biscuits are making their way onto shelves and gift boxes amid a strong festive season, as traders point to 10-12% year-on-year increase in demand, supported by growing consumer demand, a lower goods and services tax (GST) rate and favourable global harvests.

Dry fruit imports usually see an increase during the festive season, which accounts for a significant share of India's annual purchases. An analysis of last year's data shows that the festive period, from August to December, accounted for about 45% of dry fruit imports in 2025. In volume terms, dry fruit imports increased 20.5% to 1.03 billion kg during last year's festive period, compared with 0.9 billion kg in 2022.

"Trade sources point to annual demand growth of around 10-12%. The reduced GST of 5% has also made these products more accessible," said Gunjan Jain, president, Nuts and Dry Fruits Council of India.

Cashew imports rose 31% year-on-year in September, while chocolates and cocoa-containing products saw a 26% increase. "We're seeing a big jump in demand for cheese, chocolates and tree nuts now that tier-2 and tier-3 cities are joining the trend. People really want unique, high-protein hampers," said Amit Lohani, founder director, Forum of Indian Food Importers.

India imported 553.9 million kg of cashews during the festive period in 2025 compared with 517.9 million kg in 2022, though this was slightly lower than the 558.7 million kg imported in 2024. Inbound shipments of dates rose to 299.2 million kg in 2025 from 265.8 million kg in 2024 and 196.2 million kg in 2022.

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Almond imports increased to 123.5 million kg in 2025, compared with 109 million kg in 2022, while walnut and raisin imports rose to 36.5 million kg and 17.9 million kg, respectively.

Jain said that festivals add momentum to dry fruit demand, with many families choosing nut-rich sweets and lighter mithai, and sweet makers featuring cashews in their festive ranges.

In value terms, India imported $601.6 million worth of almonds during the festive period in 2025, compared with $514.6 million in 2024. Meanwhile, inbound walnut shipments increased 63.1% to $107.3 million, compared with $65.8 million. Overall, dry fruit imports rose 8.1% year-on-year to $1.8 billion.

"Diwali demand is definitely there, but because imports are delayed and getting expensive, customers are scaling back from ₹10,000 hampers to the ₹3,500-5,000 range.

The silver lining is that Indian brands are stepping up-mixing local and imported items and presenting them in packaging that looks truly international," Lohani added.
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