India's merchandise exports dipped by 2.38 per cent to $36.43 billion in January against $37.32 billion a year ago, according to government data released on Monday.
Imports increased by 10.28 per cent to $59.42 billion last month compared to $53.88 billion in January 2024.
The trade deficit, or the gap between imports and exports, stood at $22.99 billion during the month under review.
During April-January period this fiscal, exports increased by 1.39 per cent to $358.91 billion and imports by 7.43 per cent to $601.9 billion.
As per government data, in December 2024, too, India’s merchandise exports had gone down. It came down by about 1 per cent to $38.01 billion in December 2024 against $38.39 billion a year ago.
Also read: US reciprocal tariffs may hit Asian trade, growth
Imports increased by 4.8 per cent to $59.95 billion in December 2024 compared to $57.15 billion in the year-ago month.
The trade deficit, or the gap between imports and exports, stood at $21.94 billion during the month under review.
During April-December this financial year, exports increased by 1.6 per cent to $321.71 billion and imports by 5.15 per cent to $532.48 billion.
However, India’s exports have seen a historic rise, reaching USD 778.21 billion in 2023-24. This marks a 67 per cent increase from USD 466.22 billion in 2013-14. The growth reflects India’s expanding role in global trade, driven by strong performances in both merchandise and services exports.
In 2023-24, merchandise exports stood at USD 437.10 billion, while services exports contributed USD 341.11 billion, demonstrating a well-balanced expansion. Key sectors like electronics, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, iron ore, and textiles played a vital role in this surge.
In the same yea, the top merchandise export destinations for India included the USA (17.90 pc), UAE (8.23 pc), Netherlands (5.16 pc), China (3.85 pc), Singapore (3.33 pc), UK (3.00 pc), Saudi Arabia (2.67 pc), Bangladesh (2.55 pc), Germany (2.27 pc) and Italy (2.02 pc).
Follow us
