India’s exports set a new record of $821 bn in FY25 on strong services growth despite flat goods trade

India exported $437.42 billion worth of goods in 2024-25, a tad higher than $437.07 billion the previous year. Merchandise imports during the year were to the tune of $720.24 billion, 6.2 per cent higher than $678.21 billion registered during the previous year.

In March 2025 alone, exports grew 0.7% year-on-year to $41.97 billion, with imports rising 11.3% to $63.51 billion -- leading to a monthly trade deficit of $ 21.54 billion. The export numbers reflect the resilience of the Indian export sector amid rising global geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions, S C Ralhan, president, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said.

According to Commerce Ministry estimates, the muted performance of merchandise exports will be compensated by growth in services exports, and India will register the highest ever exports of $820.93 billion. The initial estimates of the ministry suggest India’s services exports during 2024-25 are likely to be worth $383.51 billion, 12.45 per cent higher than $341.06 billion in 2023-24. The ministry estimates the value of India’s services imports during 2024-25 to be $194.95 billion, 9.33 per cent higher than $178.31 billion in 2023-24.

India’s foreign trade data in services is released by the Reserve Bank of India with a month’s lag, and the latest available data is for February 2025. “The merchandise export data belied expectations of a front-loading of shipments ahead of the proposed tariffs, contributing to a higher-than-expected deficit figure. We now anticipate a current account surplus of $1-3 billion in Q4 FY2025, with a full year deficit of around 0.9% of GDP,” says Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, Head - Research & Outreach, ICRA Ltd.

Even though overall merchandise exports in 2024-25 barely managed to retain the same level as that of the previous year, the growth in non-petroleum exports was quite impressive during the year, ministry data shows. India’s non-petroleum export for 2024-25 was $ 374.08 billion as compared to $ 352.92 billion the previous year.

India’s top five goods export destinations during 2024-25 were the USA, UAE, the Netherlands, the UK and China, the ministry data shows. FIEO’s Ralhan called for strategic support to sustain export momentum, including enhancing export competitiveness, diversifying products and markets, addressing logistics and infrastructure gaps and easing regulatory burdens and improving access to affordable credit.