India toffee exports up 166% since FY14: Piyush Goyal shares data
Synopsis
A packet of Melody toffees gifted by PM Modi to Italy's Giorgia Meloni in Rome became the unlikely backdrop for a data story: India's toffee exports have jumped nearly 166% over twelve years, from ₹49.68 crore in FY14 to ₹132 crore in FY26. Diplomacy and trade statistics rarely align this neatly — and the viral #Melodi moment gave the numbers a global stage.
Key Takeaways
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on 20 May said India's toffee exports rose nearly 166 per cent since FY2013-14 .
Exports of toffees, caramels, and similar sweets grew from ₹49.68 crore in FY14 to ₹132 crore in FY2025-26.
PM Narendra Modi gifted a packet of Melody toffees to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni during his visit to Rome on the same day.
Meloni shared a video of the exchange on X , saying Modi brought 'a very, very good toffee — Melody.' The #Melodi hashtag, a portmanteau of both leaders' names, went viral again — it first trended at COP28 in Dubai .
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday, 20 May revealed that India's toffee exports have surged by nearly 166 per cent since 2013-14, rising from ₹49.68 crore in FY2013-14 to ₹132 crore in FY2025-26. The minister shared the figures on social media platform X, framing the growth as a symbol of Indian confectionery's expanding global footprint.
What the Numbers Show
According to Goyal, exports of toffees, caramels, and similar sweets have more than doubled over a twelve-year period, representing one of the sharper growth trajectories in India's processed food export basket. 'India's TOFFEE TALE would surely be melody to the ears! Exports have grown nearly 166 per cent since 2013-14,' the minister wrote, adding that the 'sweetness of Made In India toffees wows the world.'
The data comes as part of a broader government effort to spotlight niche export categories that have benefited from the 'Make in India' push and improved trade facilitation measures over the past decade.
The Modi-Meloni Moment That Sparked It
The export figures gained added resonance on the same day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted a packet of Melody toffees to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during his visit to Rome. The informal exchange quickly went viral online, reviving the widely popular #Melodi hashtag — a portmanteau of the two leaders' names.
Meloni subsequently shared a video of the interaction on X, where she was seen laughing with Modi while discussing the gift. 'Prime Minister Modi brought us a gift — a very, very good toffee — Melody,' she said in the video, also thanking Modi in her caption.
The 'Melodi' Phenomenon
The #Melodi trend first gained global traction during the COP28 Summit in Dubai, when Meloni posted a selfie with Modi captioned 'Good friends at COP28, #Melodi.' Since then, their warm public interactions at international forums — including the G20 Summit in New Delhi — have repeatedly generated significant social media attention.
Earlier on Wednesday, visuals from a special dinner hosted near the iconic Colosseum in Rome also circulated widely, showing the two leaders sharing a relaxed moment that included a smiling selfie.
Broader Context for Indian Confectionery Exports
India's processed food export sector has seen consistent policy support over the past decade, with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) actively promoting value-added categories. The toffee export surge reflects both growing demand in emerging markets and India's improving competitiveness in sugar-based confectionery. Notably, the jump from ₹49.68 crore to ₹132 crore also tracks a period of significant rupee depreciation, which has enhanced price competitiveness for Indian exporters in overseas markets.
With diplomatic goodwill and trade data now aligned around the same candy, the government is expected to continue spotlighting such niche export wins as part of its broader narrative around India's manufacturing and export transformation.
Point of View
But context matters: the base in FY14 was a modest ₹49.68 crore, so the absolute gain — roughly ₹82 crore over twelve years — is commercially small even as the percentage looks dramatic. The more significant story is the government's deft use of a viral diplomatic moment to amplify a trade data point that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. When a Melody toffee becomes a geopolitical prop and a trade press release simultaneously, it says as much about India's soft-power communication strategy as it does about its confectionery sector. The question mainstream coverage skips: how much of that export growth is price-driven by rupee depreciation versus genuine volume expansion in new markets?
NationPress
10 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
By how much have India's toffee exports grown since FY2013-14?
India's toffee exports have grown by nearly 166 per cent since FY2013-14, rising from ₹49.68 crore to ₹132 crore in FY2025-26, according to data shared by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on 20 May.
Why did Piyush Goyal share toffee export data on 20 May 2025?
Goyal shared the data on X on the same day PM Modi gifted Melody toffees to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni in Rome, using the viral diplomatic moment to highlight India's confectionery export growth under the 'Make in India' initiative.
What is the #Melodi trend and why is it trending again?
#Melodi is a portmanteau of 'Modi' and 'Meloni' that first went viral at the COP28 Summit in Dubai when Meloni posted a selfie with PM Modi. It resurfaced after Modi gifted Melody toffees to Meloni during his Rome visit, prompting Meloni to share a video of the exchange on X.
What did Giorgia Meloni say about the Melody toffee gift?
Meloni shared a video on X showing her laughing with PM Modi, saying 'Prime Minister Modi brought us a gift — a very, very good toffee — Melody.' She also thanked Modi in her caption.
Which category of exports does the toffee data fall under?
The data covers exports of toffees, caramels, and similar sweets — a sub-category within India's processed food and confectionery export basket, which has received sustained support from government bodies including APEDA over the past decade.
