Which countries import the most palm leaf plates from India?

Where do India’s palm leaf plate exports go?

To about 95 countries, but three regions take most of the value. The United States was the volume anchor. Western Europe (Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Belgium, Italy and the Nordic countries) pays the highest sustained prices. Israel is a market of its own at roughly 9%. Australia, Canada, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the rest of Asia-Pacific make up the long tail.

These shares are our estimates by value, from Indian customs export records. FY 2025-26 is provisional. The method is on the Industry Report 2026 methodology page. The top three destinations carry more than 60% of revenue, which is why one market’s trouble can move the whole trade.

Has Western Europe overtaken the United States?

Yes, in FY 2025-26, for the first time in our nine-year series. Western Europe rose from about 41% to about 48% of value while the United States fell from about 41% to about 31%.

Part of that is Europe holding up. Most of it is the US falling. Whether the change lasts depends on where US duties settle and how fast American distributors rebuild their programmes. I expect Europe to stay ahead, and the report’s forecast keeps it ahead in all three scenarios.

What happened to US imports of palm leaf plates in 2025-26?

They fell by about 43% by our estimate, from roughly 11.06 million to 6.31 million US dollars. That single decline was about 72% of the whole industry’s fall in value for the year.

Duties were the main cause. A 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods applied from 7 August 2025, and an extra 25% from 27 August took the total to 50%. An order signed on 6 February 2026 removed the extra 25%, and a US-India framework announced plans to cut the reciprocal rate to 18%. After the US Supreme Court ruled against the tariffs imposed under emergency powers, those duties were ended on 20 February 2026. A temporary 10% duty under Section 122 of the Trade Act then applied from 24 February for 150 days.

For about half of the financial year, a product that competes on price per piece carried a 50% duty. American buyers moved volume to other materials and other origins, and Indian exporters moved volume to Europe, the UK and the Gulf. Our report figures stop at 31 March 2026.

Which European markets grew for palm leaf plates?

Germany and Belgium. By our estimate Germany rose about 9%, from about 3.23 million to 3.51 million US dollars, in a year when the industry shrank about 25%. Germany’s final figure may be revised upwards when the year-end data is reconciled, though the direction is clear. Belgium grew about 15%.

The rest of Western Europe fell at rates from single digits to the mid-teens, far gentler than the US. The UK, outside the US tariff story, dipped only slightly, which looks like normal demand settling rather than a shock.

European buyers order on documents and reliability more than on price. Test reports to LFGB and EN 13432, and a BSCI audit, are usually asked for before any price talk starts. Buyers who are satisfied tend to reorder season after season. Our Germany import guide covers what German buyers ask for.

Where does Israel fit, and which smaller markets are growing?

Israel stayed third, at roughly 9% of value, falling from about 2.28 million to 1.74 million US dollars (about 24%) by our estimate. We read that as a freight effect, not a change in demand, and expect its role to hold.

The long tail of about 75 smaller markets grew from about 9% to about 12% of value. The Middle East leads it: by our estimate UAE imports grew about 7.6 times between FY 2017-18 and FY 2024-25. Nordic and Asia-Pacific buyers added to the spread. Our list of countries we export to shows where Ecodyne ships today.