Nepal and Sri Lanka are two of the most natural markets for Indian incense exports, and not for abstract reasons — both have deep, daily religious and cultural use of incense, both sit geographically close to India, and both already show consistent import activity for agarbatti from Indian suppliers. This guide covers what we've found researching demand and trade patterns in both markets, general customs considerations for importing from India, and practical advice if you're bringing in your first shipment.
Why incense demand runs deep in Nepal and Sri Lanka
In Nepal, incense is used daily in Hindu household worship (puja) as well as in Buddhist practice, which together cover the overwhelming majority of the population — incense isn't an occasional purchase in most Nepali households, it's a recurring one, alongside its role in festivals, temple offerings and gifting. Sri Lanka's demand pattern is similarly rooted in religious practice, with Buddhist temple offerings and Hindu worship both driving steady incense use, and a visible retail market for what's often sold locally as "joss sticks" — a term more common in Sri Lanka and other parts of South and Southeast Asia for the same basic incense stick product. In both countries there's also a smaller domestic incense-making tradition, so imported Indian agarbatti competes and coexists with locally produced product rather than having the market entirely to itself — which is worth knowing if you're positioning a private label range rather than simply reselling bulk stock.
What the trade data actually shows
Shipment-tracking data on agarbatti imports into Nepal shows well over a thousand recorded shipments in a recent twelve-month tracking window, with India confirmed as a top source country — consistent with what you'd expect given the shared border and existing trade relationship. On the Sri Lankan side, incense import shipment data for the twelve months to mid-2025 shows India as the leading source country, ahead of the UAE and Malaysia, with the shipment records specifically including perfumed incense sticks, dhoop powder and incense holders, and — notably for our clients focused on this category — mosquito repellent incense sticks moving from India into Sri Lanka in the same trade data. That's a useful, concrete signal that mosquito repellent incense is already an established, moving category between the two countries, not a speculative one. We'd caveat that shipment-tracking platforms capture a sample of trade activity rather than the complete customs record, so treat these as directional signals of an active, India-dominant trade lane rather than precise total-market figures.
India's trade proximity: a genuine sourcing advantage
Geography is a real, practical advantage here, not just marketing language. Shipments from Indian ports to Nepal (largely overland via border crossings) or to Sri Lanka (a short sea crossing from South Indian ports) generally move faster and more predictably than incense sourced from further afield, which matters for a low-unit-value product like agarbatti where freight cost as a share of landed price is more sensitive than it is for higher-value goods. Both countries also benefit from established regional and bilateral trade frameworks with India. Nepal trades under the Nepal-India Trade Treaty, which provides preferential market access and duty treatment on a large list of products moving between the two countries, and India is by a wide margin Nepal's largest trading partner. Sri Lanka trades with India under the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA), signed in 1998 and in force since 2000, which established phased duty elimination on a broad range of goods between the two countries, alongside the wider South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) framework that applies across South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation member states more generally. The specific duty treatment for any given incense product code can change and depends on classification, product origin rules and current tariff schedules in each country, so we'd always recommend confirming the current position with a licensed customs broker in Nepal or Sri Lanka before finalizing your landed cost model — general trade-framework knowledge is a useful starting point, not a substitute for that check.
Practical advice for a first-time Nepali or Sri Lankan importer
Start with a realistic trial order rather than a full container, even if you're confident about demand — this lets you confirm fragrance preferences in your specific local market (fragrance taste for devotional incense can vary meaningfully even between neighbouring countries), test your retail packaging and pricing, and build a working relationship with your Indian supplier before committing larger capital. Get your product specification precise before requesting quotes: stick length, masala type (charcoal-based vs charcoal-free), whether you want devotional/temple-grade fragrance lines or mosquito repellent product, and your packaging format, since bulk export cartons and branded retail boxes carry very different costs and lead times. Confirm the correct HS classification for your specific product with your customs broker early — agarbatti generally falls under HSN/HS code 3307 41 in most tariff systems, but confirming the exact local classification and any preferential-rate documentation (certificate of origin, for instance) needed to claim treaty benefits is something your broker should verify against current local rules rather than something to assume. Finally, work with a sourcing partner who can produce proper export documentation — commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin — without friction, since incomplete documentation is one of the most common causes of unnecessary delay or duty disputes at either border.
Fragrance preferences: don't assume Nepal and Sri Lanka want the same thing
Even though both markets sit close to India and share overlapping religious traditions, fragrance preference isn't identical between them, or even necessarily identical to preferences within India itself. Nepali household and temple use often mirrors North Indian devotional fragrance lines closely, given the shared Hindu ritual practice and long-standing cross-border trade. Sri Lankan preference, shaped by its Buddhist temple culture and distinct retail history — including its own smaller domestic incense-making tradition — can lean toward different dominant notes, and local competition means an imported product needs to hold up directly against product Sri Lankan consumers already know well. The practical takeaway is the same for both markets: request physical samples across a handful of fragrance options before finalizing a bulk or private label order, rather than assuming a fragrance line that performs well in one South Asian market will automatically perform the same way in the other.
A documentation checklist worth confirming before you order
Before your first shipment leaves India, confirm your supplier can provide: a commercial invoice matching your purchase order exactly, a complete packing list, a certificate of origin (needed to claim preferential duty treatment under the applicable trade framework), and any product-specific documentation your customs broker flags — this can include a certificate of analysis for mosquito repellent or other functional incense lines. Mismatches between the commercial invoice value and the packing list, or missing certificate of origin paperwork, are among the most common reasons a shipment gets held at customs in either Nepal or Sri Lanka, and they're entirely avoidable with a supplier that treats documentation as a standard part of the order rather than an afterthought requested at the last minute.
Payment terms worth agreeing upfront
For a first order between a new Nepali or Sri Lankan buyer and an Indian supplier, a standard structure is a deposit, commonly in the 30-50% range, paid to begin production, with the balance settled before the shipment departs India. Agree this in writing, along with what happens if a shipment date slips or a quality issue is found during pre-shipment inspection, before you send the first payment. For repeat, higher-volume orders once a relationship is established, some importers negotiate more flexible terms, but that trust is generally built through a clean first and second order rather than assumed from the outset.
Where Tiwari Groups International fits in
We are the trading name of Wickbond Private Limited, a registered Indian company, and we source agarbatti — including devotional, fragrance and mosquito repellent lines — through a network of verified Indian manufacturers, managing sampling, our documented six-stage quality control process, and export documentation on your behalf. If mosquito repellent incense is part of your order, our dedicated guide on sourcing mosquito repellent incense sticks covers formulation and sourcing considerations in more depth. Send us your product specification and target quantity and we'll return a real, factory-informed quote for import into Nepal or Sri Lanka.