India achieved a historic milestone by recording $441.8 billion in goods exports for the financial year 2025-26, marking a 1% increase from the previous year, according to The Times of India. This represents the highest-ever goods export performance for the country, demonstrating resilience despite challenging global conditions. The overall export performance, including services, reached a record $860.1 billion, representing a 4% growth year-on-year.
Despite the record export performance, India's trade deficit widened significantly to $333 billion due to a substantial increase in imports, as reported by The Times of India. Imports rose 7.5% to $775 billion, driven primarily by a surge in gold and silver shipments. The overall trade deficit would have been higher, but for a 7.6% decline in March exports to $38.9 billion, which helped narrow the deficit to a nine-month low of $20.7 billion as imports fell 6.4% to $59.6 billion.
The West Asia conflict significantly impacted India's trade performance, particularly affecting March exports, according to The Times of India. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal revealed that exports crashed 57.9% in March while imports fell 51.6%. India's normal monthly trade with West Asia amounts to approximately $6 billion, but this was reduced to only about $2.5 billion in March due to war-related disruptions. The conflict also contributed to lower oil prices in the initial months of the last year, which muted the value of diesel and aviation fuel shipments.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal expressed pride in India's achievement, stating that the country achieved record exports despite global headwinds, as reported by The Times of India. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal noted that India's export growth exceeded the global average and came amid a challenging global environment that included steep US tariffs and the Iran war in March. He expressed optimism about smoother global trade in the coming months and highlighted that trade deals with the UK, Oman, and New Zealand are expected to bolster exports this year.
