India's trade fairs for overseas buyers
Most of India's good factories aren't really online, and the fair is where they go to find you. A UK importer who runs a company in India said it on a forum in February 2026 - "Most of the actual Manufacturers are not even there online or have hardly any presence" (r/smallbusinessuk, 2026 (opens in a new tab)). This page tells you which Indian fairs and hosted programmes are worth a trip for an overseas buyer, who pays for what, and how to get a seat.
One honest caveat first. We list a fair's dates only once its organiser has published them, so several big shows below still say "dates not yet announced", and we'd rather show that gap than guess.
For a first trip, a hosted-buyer programme (a Reverse Buyer-Seller Meet) or a fair with a hosted package, such as the India Carpet Expo or Indusfood, usually beats a big general fair. You get subsidised travel and pre-set meetings with exporters screened for your category. To be nominated, email the commercial wing of the Indian mission in your country.
All fairs, every country: /fairs/. How fairs fit the buying process: how to source.
Before you choose a fair
Export promotion council fairs are exporter-only on the exhibitor side, and that is the point. IHGF exhibitors must be paid-up EPCH members holding a three-year export performance certificate. IIJS is exclusively for GJEPC members. Membership guarantees you a registered exporter with a track record. It doesn't guarantee that the exhibitor makes the goods, because council members include merchant exporters, which is a normal way to trade. Ask at every stand who makes what you are holding.
Some "fairs" aren't export-sourcing fairs. IITF is mostly a public show, and only 14 to 18 November 2026 are B2B days. AAHAR is largely a domestic hospitality and equipment show. The private shows at Bharat Mandapam (TFI, 3IJS, Footwear India Expo, Gifts World Expo, Toy Biz) serve a mostly domestic audience. We say this on each page so you don't fly for the wrong hall.
IHGF also courts domestic buyers. Its exhibitor form asks about "Domestic Volume Buyers" and "Small Orders". That tells you the exhibitors expect small orders, which helps you, and that you will share the aisles with Indian retailers, which shapes the conversation at the stand.
Hosted-buyer programmes: who pays for what
| Programme | Hotel | Airfare | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| India Carpet Expo (CEPC) | Up to 2 nights, 5-star, breakfast | A fixed reimbursement in three tiers: 19 named countries (including the US, Canada and Australia), then BRICS, then everyone else | At CEPC's sole discretion, after document checks |
| Indusfood (TPCI) | "All or some" | "All or some" | A registration fee, refunded if not selected. A screening committee decides |
| Bharat Tex 2026 (as a model) | Up to 4 nights | Not stated | The organiser selects, with criteria unpublished |
| IESS 2024 (as a model) | 3 nights | Capped by country | Screened by the Indian embassy. Attend all 3 days |
| Bharat International Rice Conference 2026 (IREF) | 3 nights, star hotel, room only | Economy return up to a cap, reimbursed against passport, visa, tickets and boarding pass | At least three years of regular rice imports. Six hours at the venue on each conference day, checked by badge scan |
| FIEO RBSMs 2026 | Complimentary | Up to a cap, paid only on business outcomes (MoUs or confirmed orders) | Nominated through Indian consulates |
| India SME Forum RBSMs | Hotel, meals, local transport | None | At least US$50,000 of cumulative imports over the last two financial years |
| IHGF (EPCH) | Discounted rooms | None | Pre-register for free transfers |
| IIJS (GJEPC) | None | A lucky draw (2026 Premiere) | Collect 20 stamps from exporter stands |
Terms as published by each organiser, read September 2026. They change edition to edition, so check the current amounts and fees with the organiser before you rely on them.
Read it as a buyer. The richest offers are tied to results or to your credentials, so expect to prove you are a real importer: a company record, an import history, sometimes a letter from your bank. A subsidy buys the organiser a meeting schedule, and you will be expected to sit through it. That is a fair trade if the exporters are screened for your category, and a wasted trip if they aren't. Ask who is on the meeting list before you accept.
Reverse Buyer-Seller Meets (RBSMs)
An RBSM flies foreign buyers to India to meet pre-screened exporters in structured slots, often with factory visits in the cluster. The exporters pay to be there, and the buyers are hosted.
Funding under India's Market Access Support (MAS) sets the terms for most of them:
- at least 100 overseas participants
- buyer hospitality only
- an airfare ceiling of ₹1,25,000 for Oceania and the Americas, and ₹75,000 elsewhere, with the government paying 75% of the ceiling or of actuals
- the hotel ceiling is not yet notified
- delegates are finalised at least three weeks before the event
- delegates must not be related to Indian entities
- feedback is mandatory
(DGFT Trade Notice 19/2025-26 and the Market Access Support guidelines, 31 December 2025 (opens in a new tab), listed on the DGFT scheme guidelines page (opens in a new tab).)
How to get in:
- Watch the events page of the Indian mission covering your country. Two examples: the High Commission in Wellington (opens in a new tab) and the Consulate in Sydney (opens in a new tab).
- Apply on the organiser's form, or email the mission's commercial wing asking to be nominated for RBSMs in your category. One email, your company details, your import history, your category.
- Apply months ahead. FIEO's call for July to December 2026 closed on 30 May 2026.
Priority sectors, the ones most likely to be funded:
- agriculture, food and marine
- handicrafts, handlooms, carpets, AYUSH and GI goods
- leather, sports goods and toys
- stone, silk, wool, jute and minor forest produce
- telecom, defence and emerging technology
RBSMs announced for 2026-27 (nominations for the FIEO events have closed, so watch for the next call):
| Meet | Dates | Place | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIEO RBSM | 8 to 9 Oct 2026 | Shillong | North East crafts: cane, bamboo, handloom, honey, black pottery |
| FIEO RBSM | 15 to 17 Oct 2026 | Vijayawada | Agri and processed foods (including spices), textiles and garments, pharma and healthcare, medical equipment and consumables, aqua and animal feed |
| FIEO RBSM | 5 to 6 Nov 2026 | Thiruvananthapuram | Agri and processed foods, spices, coffee and tea, rubber products, healthcare and cosmetics, textiles and home furnishings, coir products |
| FIEO RBSM | 8 to 9 Dec 2026 | Puducherry | Agri and processed foods (including rice and spices), pharma and healthcare, handicrafts |
| India SME Forum RBSM | 19 to 21 Nov 2026 | Tirupati | Multi-sector. US$50,000 import history required |
| ATITHI RBSM | 19 to 21 Jan 2027 | Yashobhoomi, New Delhi | Organiser and sector Unknown |
| India SME Forum RBSM | 28 to 30 Jan 2027 | Visakhapatnam | Multi-sector. US$50,000 import history required |
| RBSM for Toys-Kids India | 18 to 20 Mar 2027 | Mumbai | Toys and children's products |
Sources: FIEO RBSM notice (opens in a new tab) (sectors re-read 25 September 2026) · India SME Forum invitation (opens in a new tab) · embassy fair calendar 2026-27 (opens in a new tab) · Consulate General of India, Sydney (opens in a new tab) (ATITHI venue, read 25 September 2026), all read September 2026.
MAI is gone, and MAS replaces it
The Market Access Initiative, which funded buyer hospitality for years, ran to 31 March 2026. The Export Promotion Mission (₹25,060 crore, FY2025-26 to FY2030-31) consolidates it (Cabinet approval of the Export Promotion Mission, pmindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Two things follow for you. Hosted packages will vary more by organiser in 2026-27, so read each offer as that organiser's promise rather than a government rule. And the older "MAI-funded" language on some fair websites is out of date, so ask what is funded this edition.
Visa
The e-Business Visa is the usual route for fair and factory visits. Organisers issue invitation or recommendation letters: CEPC on request, EPCH through visitors@ihgfdelhifair.in. Apply at least two weeks ahead, and earlier around Diwali (8 November 2026), when processing slows with everything else.
The fair list
Next edition first, and every fair's page holds its past editions. A date shows only when the organiser has published it on its own site, read September 2026. Everything else says "dates not yet announced" and gives the last known edition.
| Fair | Sector | Next edition | Venue, city | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India Carpet Expo | Carpets, floor coverings | Not yet announced (50th ran 4 to 7 Oct 2026) | Carpet Expo Mart, Bhadohi | Hosted package. General visitors on the last day only |
| IHGF Delhi Fair | Home, lifestyle, gifts, furniture, fashion accessories | Autumn (62nd): 13 to 17 Oct 2026. Spring (63rd): 15 to 19 Mar 2027 | India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida | 3,000+ exporters, a searchable pre-fair directory, trade visitors only |
| Bharat International Rice Conference | Rice | 2nd: 23 to 25 Oct 2026 | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi | Hosted package for buyers with three years' import history. 25 Oct is a public day |
| India International Trade Fair | Multi-product | 45th: 14 to 27 Nov 2026 (B2B 14 to 18 Nov only) | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi | Mostly public, not an export-sourcing fair |
| Indusfood | Food and beverages | Bengaluru: 25 to 27 Nov 2026. Greater Noida: 8 to 10 Jan 2027. Ahmedabad: 25 to 27 Jun 2027 | BIEC, India Expo Centre & Mart, Gandhinagar | Closed-door B2B for pre-approved buyers, with a hosted programme |
| IIJS | Gems and jewellery | Signature: 7 to 11 Jan 2027, Mumbai (the two halls run a day apart). Tritiya: 3 to 5 Apr 2027, Bengaluru. Premiere: 4 to 9 Aug 2027, Mumbai | Jio World Convention Centre and Bombay Exhibition Centre, BIEC | GJEPC members only, no counter sales, paid and document-checked registration |
| Bharat Mobility | Automotive, engineering | 4 to 9 Feb 2027 | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi (components show at Yashobhoomi, 4 to 7 Feb) | Buyer application form on the organiser's site. Hosted terms not published |
| India Sporting Goods Fair | Sports goods | 12 to 14 Mar 2027 | Yashobhoomi (IICC), New Delhi | International buyers on day 1 only |
| BFLEX | Footwear, leather | 7th: 15 to 16 Mar 2027 (moved from Sep 2026) | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi | Run as an RBSM. MAS hospitality likely, terms Unknown |
| Toy Biz International | Toys | 18th: 3 to 6 Jul 2027 | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi | Largely domestic audience |
| IIFF | Footwear | 11th: 5 to 7 Aug 2027 | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi | Buyer terms Unknown. ITPO says registration opens only on its own site |
| Bharat Tex | Textiles and apparel, whole value chain | 2027: dates not yet announced. Last: 3rd, 14 to 17 Jul 2026 | Unknown | 2026 model: up to 4 hotel nights, transfers, factory visits |
| IESS | Engineering | 13th: dates not yet announced. Last: 12th, Nov 2024, Chennai | Unknown | 2024 model: 3 nights, capped airfare, embassy-screened. Strong fit for engineering buyers |
| Seafood Expo Bharat | Seafood | 2027: dates not yet announced | Unknown | 2026 edition was 1 to 3 Jul, Chennai. Paid delegate registration |
| IFJAS | Fashion jewellery, accessories | 20th: dates not yet announced. Last: 19th, 4 to 6 Jul 2025 | Unknown | Site still shows the 2025 edition |
| World Spice Congress | Spices | 15th: dates not yet announced | Unknown | Last shown: 14th edition, Sep 2023 |
| HEPC handloom and home-textile fairs | Handloom, home textiles | "Announced shortly" | Unknown | Watch the council's events page |
| AAHAR | Food, hospitality equipment | 41st: dates not yet announced (ITPO holds the halls 25 Feb to 7 Mar 2027). Last: 40th, 10 to 14 Mar 2026 | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi | Largely domestic, so food importers should look at Indusfood |
| IILF | Leather, footwear | Dates not yet announced. Last: 39th, 1 to 3 Feb 2026 | Chennai (2026: Chennai Trade Centre) | No 2027 page on ITPO's site yet |
| iPHEX | Pharma, healthcare, AYUSH, nutraceuticals | 13th: dates not yet announced. Last: 12th, 2026 | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi (Supported) | 600+ overseas buyers invited, with factory visits |
| BIOFACH India | Organic and natural food, millets | 19th: dates not yet settled (organiser shows both Aug and 9 to 11 Sep 2027) | India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida | Last edition held in 2026 |
| World Food India | Food processing | Dates not yet announced. Last: 2025 | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi | Buyer terms Unknown |
Dates not yet announced, no page yet: Home Expo India, India Toy Fair, Heimtextil/Texworld India, Tex-Trends India. Private shows at Bharat Mandapam (TFI, 3IJS, Footwear India Expo and Gifts World Expo) serve a largely domestic audience and get a page only if an organiser lists. India International Garment Fair is left out until an official site is found.
Indian pavilions at fairs abroad (AEPC at Global Sourcing Expo Australia, 17 to 19 November 2026, AEPC in Dubai, 16 to 18 November 2026, and EPCH at Ambiente, Frankfurt, 29 January to 2 February 2027) are listed on the destination pages under trade. Source: AEPC events (opens in a new tab).
Where SourcingSync helps
Want meetings set up, factories pre-screened against their public records, and visits run for you around a fair? SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) does it.
Next dates not confirmed
AAHAR
Bharat Mandapam, India
AAHAR is India's big food and hospitality show, run by ITPO at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The name means "food", so importers assume it's the place to buy Indian food. It mostly isn't. It's a domestic show for hotels, restaurants and caterers, and about half the floor is kitchen and hotel equipment.
Next dates not confirmed
BFLEX Bharat Footwear & Leather Expo
Bharat Mandapam, India
"We do a lot of leather goods in India which rarely has quality issues." That line came from an Amazon seller comparing sourcing countries (r/FulfillmentByAmazon, 2019), and it matches what we hear more widely. Leather and soft goods are where foreign buyers report their better India results. BFLEX is the leather export council's show for exactly that trade.
Next dates not confirmed
Bharat International Rice Conference
Bharat Mandapam, India
The Bharat International Rice Conference (BIRC) is the Indian Rice Exporters Federation's conference for the rice trade, run with APEDA, now in its second year. If you import basmati or non-basmati rice then it puts a big slice of India's exporters in one building for three days.
Next dates not confirmed
Bharat Mobility
Bharat Mandapam (components show at Yashobhoomi, 4 to 7 Feb), India
An Indian castings and fasteners maker shipped his first three export containers to a buyer in Dubai on payment against delivery, because "no one was ready to pay advance" (r/IndiaBusiness, 2025). That's the other side of the table at Bharat Mobility. Plenty of the component makers in these halls want export orders badly, and a buyer who turns up prepared has more leverage than the guides suggest.
Next dates not confirmed
Bharat Tex
Unknown, India
Bharat Tex is India's whole-chain textile fair, from fibre and yarn through fabric to finished garments, home textiles and technical textiles, run by a consortium of the textile export councils. The 2027 dates aren't announced yet, so this page tells you what the 2026 edition offered buyers and what to do before the call opens.
Next dates not confirmed
BIOFACH India
Delhi-NCR (hall not yet named), India
BIOFACH India is the Indian edition of the big Nuremberg organic fair, run by NuernbergMesse India with Natural Expo India and Millets India alongside. If you import certified organic food, natural products or millets then it's the one Indian show built around your category.
Next dates not confirmed
HEPC handloom and home-textile fairs
Unknown, India
A buyer planning a trip to Karur, one of India's home-textile towns, wrote this in January 2026 - "I tried enquiring online and through email's but unfortunately only few of the many manufacturers/Factories have responded" (r/Karur, 2026). The locals' advice was to tell owners ahead of time and walk in. That's the problem council fairs solve. The weavers and exporters who don't answer cold emai…
Next dates not confirmed
IFJAS (India Fashion Jewellery and Accessories Show)
Unknown, India
"I don't wanna order something that has lead or something." That's a buyer abroad asking about Indian costume jewellery (r/ABCDesis, 2021), and another in the same vein said flatly "there's no fashion jewelry that doesn't have lead probably" (forum reply, 2025). The worry is fair, and it is also fixable. IFJAS is where you can put that question to a hall full of exporters face to face.
Next dates not confirmed
IHGF Delhi Fair
India Expo Centre & Mart, India
IHGF is India's biggest handicrafts, home and lifestyle sourcing fair, with brassware, furniture, textiles, gifts and fashion accessories from India's craft clusters under one roof. It runs twice a year at Greater Noida, just outside Delhi. It suits buyers who want to see many categories in one trip, and it rewards the ones who shortlist before they fly.
Next dates not confirmed
IIJS (Signature, Tritiya, Premiere)
Jio World Convention Centre and Bombay Exhibition Centre (Mumbai); BIEC (Bengaluru, Tritiya), India
IIJS is the gem and jewellery export council's show, held three times a year under three names, and it's the trade's front door to Indian jewellery makers. Exhibitors are council members only and there are no counter sales. It's a show for buyers with a jewellery business, not a place to pick up a few pieces.
Next dates not confirmed
India Carpet Expo
Carpet Expo Mart, India
The India Carpet Expo is the carpet export council's own fair for hand-knotted, hand-woven and tufted carpets and floor coverings. It sits in Bhadohi, inside the carpet belt itself, so you see the product a short drive from where it's woven. It has the most generous hosted-buyer package we've found at any Indian fair.
Next dates not confirmed
India Engineering Sourcing Show (IESS)
Unknown, India
A US machine shop owner once described his Indian parts in one line - "super crooked drill holes, every single threaded hole needs to be retapped by us" (r/Machinists, 2021). Precision work is where foreign buyers report their worst India results, and it is also where the good Indian plants are very good. IESS is the one fair built to help you tell the two apart.
Next dates not confirmed
India International Footwear Fair (IIFF)
Bharat Mandapam, India
IIFF is ITPO's footwear fair at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, showing finished footwear, components and machinery. If you buy shoes from India then it's one of two Delhi footwear shows to weigh up. The other is BFLEX, the leather council's buyer-seller meet.
Next dates not confirmed
India International Leather Fair (IILF)
Unknown, India
IILF is Chennai's leather fair, on the doorstep of the Tamil Nadu tanning and footwear belt around Ambur, Ranipet and Vellore. ITPO hasn't announced the 2027 dates yet, so we don't show the ones circulating on third-party sites.
Next dates not confirmed
India International Trade Fair (IITF)
Bharat Mandapam, India
An Indian B2B manufacturer put it simply on a forum - "Now we mostly acquire new customers through trade shows, or references" (r/India, 2023). A UK importer in another thread agreed from the buying side, saying most real makers are hardly online at all (r/smallbusinessuk, 2026). So fairs matter in India. The catch is picking the right one, and IITF is the one buyers search for most and should…
Next dates not confirmed
India Sporting Goods Fair
Yashobhoomi (IICC), India
An Australian club player ordered a cricket bat straight from a maker in Meerut. The seller quoted 1,127 g, and when it landed in Australia it weighed 1,232 g (r/Cricket, 2025). That's about 9% over, on the one spec a player feels first. It's also the kind of thing you can settle in person, holding the product and putting the tolerance in writing, which is what this fair is for.
Next dates not confirmed
Indusfood
India Expo Centre & Mart (main edition); BIEC (Bengaluru); Helipad Exhibition Centre (Gandhinagar), India
Indusfood is the Indian food fair built for people like you, the importers. It's a closed-door show run by the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), and only pre-approved buyers get in. When food importers ask us about AAHAR, this is where we send them instead.
Next dates not confirmed
iPHEX
Bharat Mandapam, India
iPHEX is Pharmexcil's export fair for medicines, APIs, healthcare products, AYUSH and nutraceuticals. It flies in overseas delegates, sets up meetings and runs factory visits. It's for regulated buyers - importers, distributors and procurement bodies with the licences to bring these goods in.
Next dates not confirmed
Seafood Expo Bharat
Unknown, India
Seafood Expo Bharat is the seafood fair run by MPEDA, India's marine products export authority. It's the one Indian show built entirely around seafood exporters, so if you import shrimp, fish or processed seafood then it's the fair to watch.
Next dates not confirmed
Toy Biz International
Bharat Mandapam, India
We pulled every EU Safety Gate alert on goods of Indian origin from January 2021 to September 2026, and toys showed up with a clear pattern. Six alerts were for N-nitrosamines in rubber and foam parts such as plastic tyres, and two more were for phthalates. The UK's product safety office logged four phthalate reports on Indian face stickers, a cricket set and hockey sticks in the same period (o…
Next dates not confirmed
World Food India
Bharat Mandapam, India
World Food India is the Ministry of Food Processing Industries' show at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. It's a government event built to pull investment into Indian food processing, with a big exhibition attached. You can buy there, but that's not what it's designed around.
Next dates not confirmed
World Spice Congress
Unknown, India
The World Spice Congress is the Spices Board of India's meeting for the global spice trade. It's a congress with an exhibition on the side, not a sourcing fair with a thousand stands. The board, the big exporters and the regulators all sit in one place, which makes it the best room we know for learning how Indian spice actually gets tested.
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