INDUSTRY REPORT 2026 · EXPORTS
How much palm leaf tableware does India export each year?
By our estimate India exported about 26.73 million US dollars of palm leaf plates and bowls in FY 2024-25, roughly 170 million pieces. Provisional FY 2025-26 exports fell 24.7% to about 20.12 million. The peak was FY 2023-24, at about 28.04 million, up from 10.55 million in FY 2017-18.
For importers, analysts and buyers who want the size and direction of India’s palm leaf tableware export trade in one place.
Quick facts
- Our estimate of export value: 10.55 million US dollars in FY 2017-18, 28.04 million at the FY 2023-24 peak.
- FY 2024-25: about 26.73 million, 4.7% below the peak. FY 2025-26 (provisional): about 20.12 million, down 24.7%.
- About 95 destination countries, but the top 10 take roughly 85 to 90% of value (our estimate).
- One trading partner, the United States, accounted for roughly 72% of the FY 2025-26 fall (our estimate).
How have India’s palm leaf plate exports changed since 2017?
They grew for six years, then fell sharply in one. Our series runs from about 10.55 million US dollars in FY 2017-18 to 28.04 million in FY 2023-24, an increase of 165%. FY 2024-25 came in at 26.73 million, already 4.7% below the peak. The provisional FY 2025-26 figure is 20.12 million.
| Financial year | Export value (USD million, our estimate) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2017-18 | 10.55 | start of series |
| FY 2023-24 | 28.04 | peak, +165% on FY 2017-18 |
| FY 2024-25 | 26.73 | −4.7% on the peak |
| FY 2025-26 (provisional) | 20.12 | −24.7% on FY 2024-25 |
The figures are our estimates, built from India’s customs export records for the two tariff lines that carry palm leaf plates. FY 2025-26 is provisional until the year-end data is final. How we built the series, and its limits, is on the Industry Report 2026 methodology page.
Why did palm leaf plate exports grow so fast to 2023-24?
Mostly because Europe stopped buying plastic plates. The EU ban on single-use plastic plates and cutlery applied from July 2021, and European retailers and caterers went looking for plant-based replacements. Buyers there also began to ask for test reports and audits, which favoured exporters who already held them. North American volume grew steadily alongside.
In my reading those drivers are regulatory and they have not gone away. That is why I treat the growth to FY 2023-24 as the underlying trend, and the FY 2025-26 fall as a shock on top of it.
Why did exports fall in FY 2025-26?
Because of one market. By our estimate the United States accounted for roughly 72% of the year’s fall in value. US duties on Indian goods reached a combined 50% from late August 2025 until early February 2026, which priced a low-cost product out of many American programmes for half the year.
Europe, Israel and Australia saw nothing comparable. Germany grew. The detail by country, and what has happened to US duties since, is in the Destination Geography chapter.
How many palm leaf plates does India export?
By our estimate about 170 million pieces in FY 2024-25, moving in roughly 510 forty-foot container equivalents. The provisional FY 2025-26 figures are about 115 million pieces in roughly 350 containers.
That is a small physical trade. Its importance is in reach and margin: Indian palm leaf tableware goes to about 95 countries. We do not publish the conversion factors we use to turn customs records into piece and container counts, and we do not publish weights.
How concentrated is the trade by destination?
Very. By our estimate the top 10 destinations take roughly 85 to 90% of export value and the top 20 take nearly all of it. A long tail of about 75 countries shares what is left.
That concentration is the trade’s main risk. Price levels, container use, certification demands and policy exposure are set by a handful of importing countries. When one of them changes its rules or duties, the whole industry feels it, as FY 2025-26 showed. Exporters who sell into several of the big markets carry less of that risk than those who depend on one.
What decides the export price of palm leaf plates?
Grade and destination. Each leaf gives a grade of plate, and each grade goes, over time, to the market where it earns the best price after freight and certification costs. We see three broad tiers.
| Tier | Typical buyers | What goes there |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | European retail and HoReCa buyers who ask for full test reports and audits | The best-grade output, at the highest sustained prices |
| Mainstream | Large volume markets at category-average prices | Most of the volume |
| Value | Price-led buyers | Secondary grades that would not clear the premium bar at a viable margin |
We do not publish realised prices by destination. Our own published price bands, per piece FOB New Mangalore, run from USD 0.032 to 0.117 for round plates and from 0.025 to 0.078 for bowls, Economy to Premium. Only a few Indian exporters can serve the premium tier at scale; our wholesale manufacturer page sets out how we supply it.
Questions buyers ask
When did Indian palm leaf plate exports peak?
In FY 2023-24, at about 28.04 million US dollars by our estimate. That was the high point of a series that started at about 10.55 million in FY 2017-18. FY 2024-25, at 26.73 million, was already 4.7% lower, so any claim that FY 2024-25 was the peak is wrong.
How many countries does India export palm leaf plates to?
About 95 by our estimate. The trade is concentrated, though: the top 10 destinations take roughly 85 to 90% of value and a long tail of about 75 countries shares the rest. Ecodyne itself exports to 19 countries.
Which HS code are palm leaf plates exported under from India?
Our estimates combine two Indian tariff lines, 4602.19.19 and 4602.19.90, under Heading 4602 for articles of plant materials. An older line, 4602.90.90, showed nothing in our June 2026 data pull. Check the code with your customs broker at both ends, because import tariffs classify by six digits and national lines differ.
Is the fall in palm leaf plate exports permanent?
I do not think so. The fall came from one market and one set of duties, while the European demand behind the earlier growth is still in place. The report’s forecast puts FY 2028-29 between 21.5 and 29.0 million US dollars, depending mostly on the United States.
Where do these export figures come from?
They are Ecodyne’s own estimates, built from India’s customs export records for the two tariff lines that carry palm leaf plates, with volume and container counts derived from our internal conversion factors. The method is published on the report’s methodology page. FY 2025-26 is provisional.
Sources
- Ecodyne: Industry Report 2026 methodology (export value, volume and destination estimates)
- Ecodyne: Palm Leaf Tableware Industry Report 2026
- European Commission: EU restrictions on certain single-use plastics (plates banned from 3 July 2021)
- Federal Register: Executive Order of 6 August 2025, Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of the Russian Federation (additional 25% duty on Indian goods)
- The White House: Fact Sheet, the United States and India announce trade deal (February 2026)
For current prices within our published bands, send your size mix to sales@ecodynetableware.com.
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