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Gulf & Middle East

Export to Iraq

Big buyer of Indian rice, meat, medicines and machinery. Regulated goods need a certificate of conformity before shipping.

Capital
Baghdad
Currency
IQD
Trade agreement with India
None
Main ports
Umm Qasr (Basra), Khor Al-Zubair, Baghdad International Airport

Iraq is India’s largest crude oil supplier, and on the export side it buys rice, buffalo meat, medicines, vehicles and machinery. Goods enter through Umm Qasr near Basra, or by road through Türkiye and Jordan. Most regulated products need pre-shipment conformity checks under Iraq’s quality-control programme.

What it buys from India

  • Rice, buffalo meat, sugar and other food products
  • Medicines and pharmaceutical products
  • Vehicles, machinery, electrical goods and iron and steel products

Import rules on their side

  • Regulated products need a certificate of conformity issued by an inspection company approved by Iraq’s Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control (COSQC) before shipment.
  • Food labels need Arabic, and meat needs a halal certificate and a health certificate. Medicines must be registered with Iraq’s Ministry of Health through the importer.
  • The Kurdistan Region has its own clearance points; confirm with the buyer whether the goods clear in federal Iraq or in Erbil.

Practical tips

  • Ask for an LC confirmed by an Indian bank for early orders, and take ECGC cover if you give any credit.
  • Many Iraqi traders buy through Dubai; you can meet them at Gulfood and other Dubai fairs.
  • There is no trade agreement, so the buyer pays the normal (most-favoured-nation) duty. Ask the buyer or a local customs broker for the duty on your exact HS code before you quote a landed price.
Sources (6)
  1. Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control, Iraq (COSQC)
  2. General Commission of Customs, Iraq
  3. Department of Commerce — TradeStat export-import data bank
  4. Indian Trade Portal (FIEO / Department of Commerce) — market access by country
  5. Gulfood (Dubai World Trade Centre)
  6. ECGC Ltd — export credit insurance and country risk

Trade data

India’s exports to Iraq in numbers

From the Department of Commerce’s TradeStat (Indian financial years, April–March), the country’s imports from the world from UN Comtrade, and its basics from the World Bank.

India’s exports here, 2025-26
US$ 2.96 bn
No. 35 of our 80 countries
Change from 2024-25
↓ -9.6%
US$ 3.27 bn → US$ 2.96 bn
Share of all Indian exports
0.67%
Its imports from the world
US$ 41.9 bn
2024 · India’s share 4.12%
2020-21: US$ 1.5 bn1.5k2020-212021-22: US$ 2.4 bn2.4k2021-222022-23: US$ 2.7 bn2.7k2022-23n/a2023-242024-25: US$ 3.27 bn3.3k2024-252025-26: US$ 2.96 bn3.0k2025-26
India’s exports to Iraq, year by year · US$ million · TradeStat’s 2023-24 country table is double-counted, so it is not shown

What India sells here most

By HS chapter, 2025-26. Change is against 2024-25.

Name2025-26Change
1Cereals (rice, wheat, maize)HS 10US$ 675 mn-22.1%
2Fuels and petroleum productsHS 27US$ 534 mn+20.5%
3MeatHS 02US$ 300 mn-16.7%
4Fruit and nutsHS 08US$ 226 mn+21.1%
5Coffee, tea, spicesHS 09US$ 134 mn+14.2%
6Medicines and pharmaHS 30US$ 124 mn-40%
7Iron and steel articlesHS 73US$ 118 mn+0.6%
8Electrical and electronicsHS 85US$ 111 mn-23.6%
9MachineryHS 84US$ 111 mn-17.4%
10Ceramics and tilesHS 69US$ 110 mn-10.4%
11AluminiumHS 76US$ 42 mn-32.9%
12Vehicles and partsHS 87US$ 41.1 mn+29.4%

What is rising and what is falling

Chapters where India sells at least US$ 5 million. Change from 2024-25 to 2025-26.

High demand

  1. Fats and oilsUS$ 650k → US$ 17.3 mn+2,566.2%
  2. Other food preparationsUS$ 11.2 mn → US$ 15.4 mn+36.9%
  3. Vehicles and partsUS$ 31.7 mn → US$ 41.1 mn+29.4%
  4. Essential oils, cosmeticsUS$ 24 mn → US$ 29.7 mn+23.6%
  5. Fruit and nutsUS$ 187 mn → US$ 226 mn+21.1%
  6. Fuels and petroleum productsUS$ 444 mn → US$ 534 mn+20.5%
  7. Coffee, tea, spicesUS$ 117 mn → US$ 134 mn+14.2%

Low demand

  1. Medicines and pharmaUS$ 207 mn → US$ 124 mn-40%
  2. Organic chemicalsUS$ 36.7 mn → US$ 23.5 mn-35.8%
  3. AluminiumUS$ 62.5 mn → US$ 42 mn-32.9%
  4. RubberUS$ 24.9 mn → US$ 18.3 mn-26.6%
  5. Oilseeds and seedsUS$ 34.8 mn → US$ 25.8 mn-25.9%
  6. PlasticsUS$ 50.4 mn → US$ 37.8 mn-25%
  7. Electrical and electronicsUS$ 146 mn → US$ 111 mn-23.6%
  8. VegetablesUS$ 21.9 mn → US$ 16.7 mn-23.5%

Opportunity: what this country buys from the world, and from India

The country’s own recorded imports in UN Comtrade, 2024. Chapters with the biggest gap between what it buys from the world and what it buys from India.

Vehicles and partsUS$ 4.44 bnIndia 1% · gap US$ 4.4 bn
MachineryUS$ 3.51 bnIndia 1.5% · gap US$ 3.46 bn
Iron and steel articlesUS$ 3.26 bnIndia 2.2% · gap US$ 3.18 bn
Tools and cutleryUS$ 3 bnIndia 2% · gap US$ 2.94 bn
Medicines and pharmaUS$ 2.42 bnIndia 8.4% · gap US$ 2.22 bn
Fuels and petroleum productsUS$ 2.18 bnIndia 0% · gap US$ 2.18 bn
PlasticsUS$ 2.11 bnIndia 0.2% · gap US$ 2.1 bn
Gems, jewellery, precious metalsUS$ 2.02 bnIndia 1.1% · gap US$ 1.99 bn
Electrical and electronicsUS$ 1.94 bnIndia 2.9% · gap US$ 1.89 bn
Glass and glasswareUS$ 1.94 bnIndia 9.6% · gap US$ 1.75 bn

Our product guides that sell here

India’s exports of each product to this country, 2025-26.

Name2025-26Change
1Basmati riceUS$ 634 mn-25.4%
2Buffalo meat (frozen)US$ 285 mn-19.4%
3Fresh bananaUS$ 219 mn+22.8%
4Ceramic and vitrified tilesUS$ 107 mn-9.9%
5TeaUS$ 105 mn+11.7%
6Steel pipes and tubesUS$ 72 mn-5.9%
7SpicesUS$ 28.2 mn+26.4%
8Wires and cablesUS$ 27.1 mn-21.9%
9PumpsUS$ 26.7 mn-22.9%
10Electric motors and generatorsUS$ 23.3 mn-13.4%
11Synthetic and viscose fabricsUS$ 21.2 mn+4.6%
12Sesame seed (til)US$ 14.4 mn-37.6%

The 20 biggest export lines

4-digit HS lines, 2025-26, with their Harmonized System descriptions.

Name2025-26Change
1RiceHS 1006US$ 674 mn-22.1%
2Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crudeHS 2710US$ 533 mn+20.6%
3Meat of bovine animalsHS 0202US$ 285 mn-19.4%
4Bananas, including plantainsHS 0803US$ 219 mn+22.8%
5Ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tilesHS 6907US$ 107 mn-9.9%
6TeaHS 0902US$ 105 mn+11.7%
7MedicamentsHS 3004US$ 102 mn-36.6%
8Iron or steelHS 7305US$ 69.6 mn-7.9%
9AluminiumHS 7614US$ 34.8 mn-33.1%
10Blankets and travelling rugsHS 6301US$ 31.5 mn-1.4%
11Insulated wire, cable and other electric conductors, connector fitted or notHS 8544US$ 27.1 mn-21.9%
12PumpsHS 8413US$ 26.7 mn-22.9%
13Structures of iron or steel and parts thereofHS 7308US$ 25.4 mn-22.7%
14Ferro-alloysHS 7202US$ 24.7 mn+4.9%
15Motor cars and other motor vehiclesHS 8703US$ 20.3 mn+81.3%
16Human bloodHS 3002US$ 20 mn-54.4%
17Paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding and webs of cellulose fibres, coated, impregnated, covered…HS 4811US$ 18.2 mn+9.3%
18Woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, including woven fabrics obtained from materials of heading no. 5404HS 5407US$ 17.8 mn+8.4%
19Sun-flower seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil and their fractionsHS 1512US$ 16 mn—
20Motor vehiclesHS 8708US$ 15.4 mn-0.3%

What India buys from Iraq

India’s imports from this country in 2025-26 by HS chapter, from TradeStat — this country can be your supplier too.

India’s imports, 2025-26
US$ 24.6 bn
US$ 28.9 bn → US$ 24.6 bn
India’s exports, 2025-26
US$ 2.96 bn
Trade balance
−US$ 21.6 bn
exports minus imports
Change in imports
-15%
Name2025-26Change
1Fuels and petroleum productsHS 27—-15.8%
2Fats and oilsHS 15—+118.4%
3Fruit and nutsHS 08—+15.7%
4Ships and boatsHS 89——
5AluminiumHS 76—+8,525%
6Other chemical productsHS 38—-49.4%
7PulpHS 47—-38.6%
8Salt, stone, cementHS 25——
9Hides and skinsHS 41—-43.5%
10WoolHS 51—0%

The country at a glance

Population
47.0 mn
2025
GDP
US$ 254.4 bn
2025
GDP per person
US$ 5,410
2025
Imports (goods and services)
US$ 104.5 bn
2024

Sources: TradeStat — Export Import Data Bank, Department of Commerce · UN Comtrade database (United Nations Statistics Division) · World Bank — World Development Indicators · Figures taken 29 October 2026.

What to send to Iraq

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