Defying global headwinds and World Trade Organisation’s bleak projections, India’s exports surged to a record $820.93 billion in FY25, marking a 5.5% increase over the previous year’s $778.13 billion, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday.
Merchandise exports edged up marginally to $437.42 billion from $437.07 billion in FY24. Merchandise imports rose 6% to $720 billion during the year. Non-petroleum exports stood out, rising by 6% to reach an all-time high of $374.08 billion, compared to $352.92 billion last year.
Services exports led the charge with a sharp 12.45% year-on-year increase. The sector, often under the radar in public discussions on trade, contributed significantly to overall trade expansion. Key segments included telecommunications, IT and business services, travel, and financial services.
“This past year was quite difficult. So many things happened globally— geopolitical tensions, disruptions in sea routes, and recessions in several countries. Despite the WTO’s very pessimistic projections for global trade, India has done extremely well. In fact, we’ve performed better than the global average,” said Sunil Barthwal, commerce secretary.
The US, UAE, Netherlands, UK, and Japan emerged as India’s top export destinations, while China, Russia, and Gulf nations remained major import sources.
Smartphone exports to the US rose from $4.7 billion to $7.4 billion, and to the UK from $0.2 billion to $1.5 billion. Gold imports bill of the country grew by 29% in FY25 to $58 billion despite lower shipments in volume. This is due to sharp increase in average price ($/kg) to $76,612 per kg in FY25 compared to $57,263 per kg in FY25. India marked new territory in agri-exports, sending green papaya for the first time to Dublin and London.