New Delhi, Oct 15: India's merchandise exports recorded a robust 23.04 per cent growth year-on-year to touch a four-month high of $44.4 billion in September this year, despite the uncertainties in global markets and the disruption in shipping due to the escalating Middle East conflict, official figures released on Thursday showed.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said the growth trend in India's exports was continuing, indicating sustained momentum in outbound shipments.
The growth in goods exports was driven by a broad-based increase in shipments across sectors, with particularly strong growth in petroleum products, meat, dairy and poultry products, handicrafts, and some cereals, he added.
Imports rose 8 per cent to $74.61 billion during the month due to the increase in prices of crude oil in the global market.
The surge in exports also led to a narrowing of the trade deficit to $30.21 billion during the month on a year-on-year basis from around $33 billion recorded in September 2025.
However, on a sequential basis, the trade deficit was higher than the corresponding figure of $26.86 billion in the previous month of August.
Cumulatively, goods exports stood at $259.89 billion during April-September, up nearly 19 per cent year-on-year.
Imports rose 16 per cent year-on-year to $437.53 billion in the first six months of financial year 2026-27 (FY27). As a result, the merchandise trade deficit stood at $177.64 billion during the six-month period.
Strong growth in merchandise exports has also increased their contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), after the share of exports recorded a consistent decline over the past three financial years. Exports accounted for 14 per cent of GDP in the first quarter of FY27, the latest figures show.
Following a slowdown in global demand in FY24 and FY25, and the uncertainties triggered by the US tariff turmoil in FY26, the share of exports in GDP declined to 11.3 per cent in FY26 from 11.7 per cent in FY25.
--IANS