New Delhi: India trade growth continued in September 2026, with total merchandise and services exports rising 10.99% year-on-year to an estimated $80.75 billion. Exports stood at $72.76 billion in September 2025, according to government data released on October 15. Meanwhile, total imports increased 8.19% to $94.05 billion from $86.93 billion.
Merchandise exports rose to $44.40 billion from $36.08 billion, registering growth of around 23.05%. Electronic goods, petroleum products, chemicals and engineering goods led the increase. However, merchandise imports also climbed to $74.61 billion from $69.08 billion.
The overall trade deficit narrowed to $13.30 billion in September 2026 from $14.17 billion a year earlier. Despite this monthly improvement, the cumulative trade deficit widened during the first six months of the financial year.
India’s combined merchandise and services exports during April-September 2026-27 reached an estimated $476.20 billion, up 13.84% from $418.31 billion in the corresponding period of 2025-26. Total imports increased 15.68% to $551.13 billion from $476.42 billion. Consequently, the overall trade deficit widened to $74.93 billion from $58.10 billion.
Merchandise exports during April-September rose 18.51% to $259.89 billion, compared with $219.30 billion a year earlier. Merchandise imports increased to $437.53 billion from $376.17 billion. As a result, the merchandise trade deficit widened to $177.64 billion from $156.88 billion.
India trade growth led by electronic goods and engineering exports
Electronic goods recorded the strongest growth among the major merchandise export categories in September. Exports surged 70.44% to $5.31 billion from $3.11 billion in September 2025. Petroleum product exports increased 31.90% to $6.22 billion from $4.71 billion.
Organic and inorganic chemical exports grew 24.21% to $2.94 billion from $2.37 billion. Engineering goods exports rose 20.91% to $12.17 billion, compared with $10.06 billion a year earlier. Exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups and handloom products increased 20.76% to $1.12 billion from $0.93 billion.
Other categories also recorded positive growth. These included other cereals, handicrafts excluding handmade carpets, meat, dairy and poultry products, plastics and linoleum, carpets, and gems and jewellery. Drugs and pharmaceuticals exports increased 4.68%, while rice exports rose 4.21%.
Non-petroleum exports reached $38.18 billion in September 2026, compared with $31.37 billion a year earlier. Exports excluding petroleum and gems and jewellery rose to $34.81 billion from $28.53 billion.
During April-September 2026-27, non-petroleum exports increased 15.56% to $218.70 billion from $189.26 billion. Exports excluding petroleum and gems and jewellery reached $203.41 billion, up from $175.06 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
Services exports showed a slight decline in September. Their estimated value stood at $36.35 billion, compared with $36.67 billion in September 2025. Services imports increased to $19.44 billion from $17.84 billion.
For April-September 2026-27, services exports rose to an estimated $216.31 billion from $199.02 billion. Services imports increased to $113.60 billion from $100.24 billion. The services trade surplus widened to $102.71 billion from $98.77 billion.
Export destinations also showed strong growth. In September, exports to Singapore rose 169.16%, while shipments to Malaysia increased 119.69%. Exports to Egypt grew 90.09%, those to the United States rose 47.99%, and exports to China increased 24.05%.
During April-September 2026-27, exports to Tanzania increased 122.51%, while shipments to Singapore rose 103.05%. Exports to Malaysia grew 82.85%, China increased 36.07%, and the United States rose 11.11%.
On the import side, shipments from Oman recorded the highest growth among the listed major sources in September, rising 331.82%. Imports from South Korea increased 52.93%, Singapore rose 36.44%, China grew 31.52%, and Russia increased 25.63%.
The data also showed sharp declines in imports of project goods, gold, silver and fertilisers during September. Gold imports fell 81.27%, while silver imports declined 49.11%. The government noted that September services trade figures were estimates because the latest available Reserve Bank of India data covered August 2026.
