Introduction to Starting an Import Business


  • Introduction
  • Reasons for Import
  • Import in India
  • Import Regulatory Body


Introduction

Thousands of merchants and business owners want to start an import business. Importing, like exporting, can be a very profitable business if the importer employs the proper strategies. The long-term success and profitability of an import business, on the other hand, is heavily reliant on the importer's knowledge and understanding of the international market, as well as foreign market analysis.

Importing goods from other countries is now a big business. Everything from beverages to automobiles—and a seemingly endless list of other products that one could never have imagined—is now part of the global import. Every day, millions of products are bought, sold, represented, and distributed somewhere in the world.

Reasons for Import


There are several reasons why import business and services are expanding at such a rapid pace:

Availability: An individual, business, or importer must import certain items that he cannot grow or manufacture in his home country. Bananas in Alaska, Mahogany Lumber in Maine, and Ball Park franks in France are examples.

Cachet: Many items, such as caviar and champagne, have more cachet, or "image," if they are imported rather than domestically produced. Consider Scandinavian design, German beer, French perfume, and Egyptian cotton. Everything appears more refined when it comes from afar.

Price is another important factor in product importation. Some products are less expensive when imported from another country. To name a few, Korean toys, Taiwanese electronics, and Mexican clothing can frequently be manufactured or assembled in foreign factories for far less money than if they were manufactured in the home country.

Import in India


The rising middle income groups of Indian consumers, as well as their increasing levels of expenditure on various products, have resulted in a faster rising demand for Indian imports. Cereals, edible oils, machinery, fertilizers, and petroleum products are among India's major imports. India's total imports are estimated to be around US$187.9 billion. India also imports in large quantities edible oil, sugar, pulp and paper, newsprint, crude rubber, and iron and steel.

Import Regulatory Body

In India, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), a government organisation that also controls the export business, handles all import-related activities. The Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Department of Commerce, Government of India, oversees the DGFT and all of its regional offices. The DGFT announces all procedures and policies pertaining to imports via notification, appendices, and forms.