Statsguru: Electronics hit hard by surging chip prices amid AI boom

Apple Inc recently increased prices of MacBook and iPad as rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure has led manufacturers to reallocate production toward chips used in AI data centres away from those designed for consumer electronics.

 

India imported memory chips worth $6.79 billion in FY26, 53.41 per cent more than in FY25. The annual average unit import price rose to a six-year high of $10.96 in FY26. Imported price of memory chips started climbing since November, 2025 and reached $20.44 in April, 2026. 

 

 

China was India’s largest memory chip supplier with a market share of 33.9 per cent in FY26, up from 11.31 per cent in FY23.  

 

Except for Taiwan, the unit import price of memory chips in April 2026 was nearly double the annual average unit import price in FY26.  

 

Prices of external storage devices like pen-drives rose by over 10 per cent in May 2026 Y-o-Y. Memory chip shortage hit entry-level and base-level smartphones the hardest.