India’s merchandise exports surged 19.63% year-on-year to $44.24 billion in July 2026, marking the strongest export growth since June 2022. However, a sharp increase in imports pushed the merchandise trade deficit to a six-month high of $31.98 billion.
Merchandise imports rose 17.52% to $76.22 billion during the month, driven in part by higher crude oil, electronics, gold and other imports. Crude oil and petroleum imports increased 17.64% to $18.31 billion, while electronics imports jumped 46% to $14.37 billion.
The export performance was supported by strong growth in petroleum products, electronics and engineering goods. Petroleum product exports increased 67.6% to around $6.92 billion, electronics exports rose 57.4% to $5.92 billion, and engineering goods shipments climbed 17.7% to $12.24 billion.
Exports to West Asian markets also recorded growth, rising 8.62% year-on-year to about $5.7 billion in July, according to Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal.
For the April-July period, India’s merchandise exports increased 17.04% to $173.78 billion, while imports rose 19.27% to $292.38 billion. As a result, the cumulative merchandise trade deficit widened to $118.60 billion, compared with $96.66 billion in the same period last year.
Including services, total exports were estimated at $80.14 billion in July, while total imports stood at $95.16 billion, resulting in an overall trade deficit of about $15.03 billion.
The latest figures highlight the strength of India’s export momentum but also underline the pressure from a rapidly expanding import bill, particularly for energy, electronics and other commodities.