Exports Surge, Imports Soar: India’s Trade Deficit Widens Amid Global Uncertainty

India’s exports rose 7.29% in July 2025 to USD 37.24 billion, driven by electronics and pharma, but soaring imports pushed the trade deficit to USD 27.35 billion amid global policy uncertainty.

Among the sectors which kept India’s exports up were electronic goods.

Source : pixabay

Amid an uncertain global policy environment due to new tariffs and lack of clarity worldwide, India exported USD 37.24 billion of goods in July 2025, a 7.29 per cent year-on-year increase over USD 34.71 billion in the same month last year driven by electronic goods, drugs and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, marine products and meat, dairy and poultry products.

However, merchandise imports surged to USD 64.59 billion, a jump of 8.6 per cent as compared to USD 59.48 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year, taking the trade deficit up at USD 27.35 billion in July 2025, higher as compared to USD 24.77 billion in the year-ago period, data released by the Commerce Ministry on Thursday showed. 

India Beats The Odds

In the month of June 2025, the country’s total exports, comprising merchandise and services for June 2025 at USD 67.98 billion, registered a positive growth of 6.50 per cent vis-à-vis June 2024, while total imports for last month at an estimated USD 71.50 billion, grew 0.50 per cent vis-à-vis June 2024.

The Government has exuded optimism over India’s exports – merchandise and services – in July, as well as Q2FY26, growing substantially despite the uncertain global policy environment, as Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal stated. 

India’s merchandise exports during April-June 2025 grew just 1.92 per cent at USD 112.17 billion, as compared to USD 110.06 billion during April-June 2024. Total exports comprising merchandise and services during April-June 2025 registered positive growth of 5.94 per cent yoy at USD 210.31 billion, but total imports during April-June 2025 are estimated registered a slower growth of 4.38 per cent at USD 230.62 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Electronics, Marine Exports Shine

Among the sectors which kept India’s exports up were electronic goods, which increased by 46.93 per cent from USD 2.82 billion in June 2024 to USD 4.15 billion in June 2025, and drugs and pharmaceuticals, whose exports increased by 5.95 per cent from USD 2.47 billion in June 2024 to USD 2.62 billion in June 2025.

Engineering goods exports increased by 1.35 per cent from USD 9.38 billion in June 2024 to USD 9.50 billion in June 2025. Marine products also performed well, with exports increasing by 13.33 per cent from USD 0.56 billion in June 2024 to USD 0.63 billion in June 2025.

The Government plans to focus on exports in a manner which, as the Commerce Secretary emphasised, “is under our control" with the strategy spread across improving export competitiveness, export promotion, export diversification and import diversification.

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