Archive · 30 Jul 2026
India’s $948M Human Hair Export Surprises Amid Smartphone Dominance
India sold a lot of human hair to other countries, more than it sold honey or toothbrushes.
It also sent snake venom and human blood for medicine research.
Fun items like chess sets, playing cards, and incense were sold too.
The biggest seller was smartphones, worth almost $30 billion.
Tiny items like horses and jellyfish only made about $28 million, showing how many different things India sells.
India exported $948 million of human hair (dressed and raw) in FY26, exceeding earnings from honey, toothbrushes, and papad.
Snake venom and human blood were exported for research and antivenom, worth $5.72 million and $4.82 million respectively.
Leisure and devotional goods such as chess sets, carrom boards, playing cards, agarbatti, frankincense, and water‑park amusements generated millions in export revenue.
Smartphones remained the top export at $29.36 billion, followed by diesel, diamonds, medicines, and gasoline.
Tiny niche exports (horses, jellyfish, Braille typewriters, swords, etc.) totaled about $28 million, 0.0063% of the total export basket.
- Who
- Indian exporters and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- What
- Export of diverse goods including human hair, snake venom, and leisure items
- When
- Financial year 2025-26
- Where
- India to markets in the United States, Europe, and Africa
- Why
- Demand for niche products and diversification of India’s export portfolio
- Total merchandise exports FY26
- $441.75 billion
- Human hair exports
- $948 million
- Smartphones exports
- $29.36 billion
- Snake venom exports
- $5.72 million
- Top export shares
- Smartphones $29.36B, Diesel $19.52B, Diamonds $12.11B, Medicines $10.98B, Gasoline $9.47B
