New Delhi: India’s goods exports in 2024-25 reached $437.4 billion, marginally higher than the previous year’s level of $437.1 billion, possibly aided by the rush to front-load shipments before US President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs at the beginning of April.
In March, India’s goods exports rose for the first time in four months to reach almost $42 billion, 0.7% higher than a year ago. Imports were up 11.3% to $63.5 billion, resulting in widening of trade deficit to $21.5 billion, compared with $15.3 billion in March 2024.
Goods and services exports from the country rose 6% to $820 billion during the last fiscal. “This year was very tough, given the geopolitical tension, sea routes were affected and there was a recession in a few countries. Despite WTO’s pessimistic projections, India has done very well,” commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters. The commerce department’s initial estimates pegged services exports at over $341 billion, 12.4% higher than 2023-24, with officials indicating that it may go up another $2 billion.
While oil exports fell due to lower global prices, Barthwal said that non-oil exports reached an all-time high of $374 billion, marking an increase of 6%. “That’s a very big achievement,” he said.
In 2024-25, engineering exports went up 6.7% to hit a record $116.7 billion, while electronics soared 32% to $38.4 billion. Readymade garments saw a 12% rise to $16 billion, and pharma reported a 9% increase to $30.5 billion.
To deal with the current challenges, Fieo chief S C Ralhan suggested “strategic support to sustain export momentum.” He called for enhancing export competitiveness.