Electronics Exports Poised to Overtake Petroleum in India

As Indian refiners are discouraged by the United States from purchasing Russian crude, electronics exports may become the second most shipped category, replacing petroleum items.

In the first six months of FY26, India's electronics exports rapidly moved up the ranks, cementing their status as the country's third-largest and fastest-growing export category based on commerce ministry data.

The electronics industry could be on track to surpass petroleum product exports in two years amid restrictions on the purchasing of Russian oil, and move to second position after  engineering products, according to specialists.

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The electronics category ranked 7th among the leading export categories in FY22; during the year ending March, it was the fastest growing of the top 10 categories.

It is now the fastest growing category among all 30 export categories in the first 6 months of FY26. In its climb to 3rd place, it displaced gems and jeweler from 3rd place and chemicals from 4th place in FY25. Prior to that, in its rise from 7th place in FY22, it overtook drugs and pharmaceuticals companies  and  readymade garments category to reach number 3 overall.

The trade ministry's half-yearly export data shows that electronics shipments increased 42% to $22.2 billion, of which Apple's iPhones account for about half, from $15.6 billion the previous year.