India’s merchandise trade deficit in March narrowed substantially to $15.60 billion, according to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce. India’s merchandise exports rose to $41.68 billion in March 2024, while imports declined to $57.28 billion.
In the previous month, merchandise exports were $41.40 billion, while imports were $60.11 billion. In March, services exports were $28.54 billion against February’s $32.35 billion, while imports were $15.84 billion compared to the previous month’s $15.39 billion.
Addressing a media briefing, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said, “The previous fiscal year was difficult from a trade point of view since not only did the Ukraine-Russia conflict continue, but other conflicts came up. There were huge issues with the Red Sea as well as recessionary trends globally. But India has beaten all the odds. India’s FY24 trade deficit has narrowed substantially.”
Barthwal also said that the country is closely tracking the impact of the Iran-Israel conflict on trade.