India’s Trade Performance: A Detailed Analysis of April-February 2024-25 and February 2025

India’s trade performance in the financial year 2024-25 presents a mixed picture. While the services sector has shown strong growth, merchandise exports have remained sluggish. The latest trade data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry provides insights into India’s trade trends from April to February 2024-25, along with a focused analysis of February 2025.

India’s Trade Performance (April-February 2024-25)

Overall Trade (Merchandise + Services)

India’s total trade (combining both goods and services) grew 6.24%, indicating a positive trend. However, the trade deficit widened as imports grew at a faster pace than exports.

• Total Exports: $750.53 billion, a 6.24% increase from $706.43 billion in 2023-24.

• Total Imports: $839.89 billion, a 7.28% rise from $782.90 billion.

• Trade Deficit: $89.37 billion, up from $76.47 billion, indicating that India imported more than it exported.

Merchandise Trade (Goods Only)

Merchandise trade represents the export and import of physical goods such as machinery, electronics, textiles, and petroleum products.

• Merchandise Exports: $395.63 billion, marginal growth of just 0.06% from $395.38 billion in 2023-24.

• Merchandise Imports: $656.68 billion, 5.7% higher than $621.19 billion in the previous year.

• Merchandise Trade Deficit: $261.06 billion, a sharp increase from $225.81 billion, indicating a rising gap between imports and exports.

This means that while India’s exports remained nearly the same as last year, imports increased significantly, leading to a larger trade deficit.

Services Trade (IT, Finance, Business Services, etc.)

Unlike merchandise trade, India’s services trade performed strongly, with both exports and imports rising.

• Services Exports: $354.90 billion, a 14.10% increase from $311.05 billion in 2023-24.

• Services Imports: $183.21 billion, higher than $161.71 billion last year.

• Services Trade Surplus: $171.69 billion, up from $149.34 billion, showing that India earned significantly more from services exports than it spent on imports.

  
  

The services sector, particularly IT, financial services, and professional services, continues to be India’s stronghold, generating a large surplus.

India’s Trade Performance in February 2025

Looking at the monthly trade data for February 2025, there are some important trends :

Overall Trade (Merchandise + Services)

• Total Exports: $71.95 billion, showing 3.16% growth from $69.74 billion in February 2024.

• Total Imports: $67.52 billion, a significant decline of 11.34% from $76.15 billion.

  
  

This indicates that India’s trade deficit has reduced for the month, mainly due to a drop in imports.

Merchandise Trade (February 2025)

• Merchandise Exports: $36.91 billion, lower than last year’s $41.41 billion.

• Merchandise Imports: $50.96 billion, down from $60.92 billion, helping reduce the trade deficit.

This decline in exports indicates a slowdown in some sectors, while the drop in imports suggests lower demand for key commodities like crude oil, gold, and coal.

Services Trade (February 2025)

• Services Exports: $35.03 billion, a strong increase from $28.33 billion.

• Services Imports: $16.55 billion, slightly up from $15.23 billion.

  
  

Once again, services have helped balance India’s trade by generating higher revenues.

Which Sectors Performed Well?

Top Performing Export Sectors

Several key sectors saw strong export growth:

• Electronic Goods: 26.46% growth ($3.79 billion).

• Rice: 13.21% growth ($1.19 billion).

• Minerals (Mica, Coal & Ores): 24.25% growth ($0.50 billion).

• Coffee: 22.32% increase ($0.18 billion).

• Textiles (RMG): 3.97% growth ($1.53 billion).

• Marine Products: 3.40% rise ($0.51 billion).

These sectors helped boost merchandise exports, though overall growth remained low.

Top Declining Import Sectors

Imports of several key commodities dropped, reducing overall import expenses:

• Silver: Down 75.04%.

• Gold: Dropped 61.98%, indicating lower domestic demand.

• Coal, Coke & Briquettes: Fell 35.63%.

• Petroleum (Crude & Products): Declined 29.59%.

• Iron & Steel: Down 23.37%, showing reduced industrial demand.

Non-Petroleum & Non-Gems and Jewellery Trade

February 2025 Data

• Non-Petroleum Exports: $31.10 billion, lower than $33.19 billion in February 2024.

• Non-Petroleum & Non-Gems & Jewellery Exports: $28.57 billion, compared to $29.99 billion last year.

• Non-Petroleum & Non-Gems & Jewellery Imports: $35.02 billion, slightly up from $33.96 billion.

This data shows that excluding oil, gold, and gems, India’s exports and imports remained stable.

Top Countries for India’s Trade

Top Export Destinations (February 2025)

• USA: 10.37% growth.

• Australia: 76.19% growth.

• Japan: 26.55% growth.

• Brazil: 10.85% growth.

• Nigeria: 10.75% growth.

Top Import Sources (February 2025)

• Thailand: 145.45% growth.

• China: 7.83% growth.

• Brazil: 162.18% growth.

• Ireland: 117.17% growth.

• Oman: 30.24% growth.

Conclusion

India’s trade performance in 2024-25 shows both strengths and challenges:

Strong Services Growth: The services sector continues to be India’s key strength, generating a large trade surplus.

low Merchandise Export Growth: While some sectors like electronics and minerals performed well, overall export growth remained weak.

Lower Imports Helped Reduce Deficit: A drop in petroleum, gold, and silver imports helped lower India’s trade deficit in February.

As India expands its trade partnerships and diversifies its exports, the country is positioned for stable growth. However, challenges in merchandise exports and fluctuating global demand remain key risks in the coming months.