China Becomes India's Top Trading Partner In FY24, With Bilateral Trade At $118.4 Billion

India’s exports to the US dropped 1.32 per cent to $77.5 billion in the same period, while imports fell 20 per cent to $40.8 billion in FY24, data from the GTRI revealed

China emerged as India’s largest trading partner in the 2023-24 fiscal year (FY24), surpassing the US, data from economic think tank, GTRI, revealed. Trading between the neighbouring countries stood at $118.4 billion in the fiscal under review, surpassing the trade between India and the US at $118.3 billion in FY24. 

During the 2022-23 (FY23) and 2021-22 (FY22) fiscal years, the US remained India’s top trading partner, the data revealed. Further, India’s exports to China also grew by 8.7 per cent to touch $16.67 in FY24, reported PTI citing the data. 

In the trade between India and China, sectors such as iron ore, cotton yarn/fabrics/madeups, plastic, linoleum, spices, fruits and vegetables, handloom, etc clocked a robust growth in exports. The imports from China climbed by 3.24 per cent to touch $101.7 billion during the period under review. 

India’s exports to the US dropped 1.32 per cent to $77.5 billion in the same period, while imports fell 20 per cent to $40.8 billion in FY24, the data found. Notably, India’s exports to the US stood at $78.54 billion in FY23. 

The data from the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) found that between FY19 to FY24, the trade relations of India with its top 15 trading nations witnessed major changes across exports, imports, and trade surplus or deficit across sectors.

The exports between China and India inched by 0.6 per cent from $16.75 billion to $16.66 billion, while imports jumped 44.7 per cent to $101.75 billion from $70.32 billion. Elaborating on the growth in imports, Ajay Srivastava, Founder, GTRI, said, “This growth in imports led to an expanding trade deficit, rising from $53.57 billion in FY2019 to $85.09 billion in FY2024, highlighting concerns over stagnant exports amidst rising imports.”

Meanwhile, the trade between India and the US saw a massive jump in the trade surplus for the former from $16.86 billion to $36.74 billion. The exports between the two nations climbed 47.9 per cent from $52.41 billion to $77.52 billion, while imports from the US gained 14.7 per cent from $35.55 billion to $40.78 billion.