Healthy growth in shipments of petroleum products, electronic goods and chemicals helped India’s merchandise exports rise 23.04% in September, while the trade deficit narrowed to $30.21 billion year-on-year due to a dip in imports of precious metals.

However, when compared to August, the deficit during September widened from $26.86 billion. In September last year, it was $33 billion.

The country’s exports rose to $44.4 billion from $36.08 billion in September 2025, government data released on Thursday (October 15, 2026) said.

Imports rose by 8% year-on-year to $74.61 billion in September.

Gold imports down

Gold and silver imports declined by 81.27% and 49.11%, respectively, to $1.8 billion and $665 million during the month. Inbound shipments of crude oil, on the other hand, rose by 30.76% to $18.34 billion.

Brent crude oil prices have been hovering over $100 per barrel during the last few weeks.

Cumulatively, during April-September this fiscal, exports jumped 18.51% to $259.89 billion, and imports climbed 16.31% to $437.53 billion. The deficit during the first half of 2026-27 widened to $177.64 billion as compared to $156.88 billion during April-September 2025-26.

Exports are maintaining their growth trend, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said in a press briefing on trade data.

He expressed the hope that if the trend continued, the country’s merchandise exports would cross $500 billion. They were at $442 billion in 2025-26.

Exports of petroleum products, electronic goods and chemicals grew by 31.9% ($6.2 billion), 70.44% ($5.3 billion) and 24.21% ($3 billion) respectively, during the month.

High crude oil prices amid the West Asia crisis have helped India earn better realisations from petroleum product exports.

As per government estimates, services exports stood at $36.35 billion in September, and imports were at $19.44 billion.

Services exports

On services exports, the secretary said the rise in oil prices due to the West Asia crisis has impacted the exports in areas, including travel and tourism.

Commenting on the data, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president S.C. Ralhan said exporters continue to respond to global uncertainty with agility, strengthening their presence across markets and product categories.

“This strong first-half performance provides a firm foundation to advance towards India’s $1 trillion export ambition. The priority now is to translate this momentum into sustained orders and deeper market penetration. With an enabling policy environment, India can expand high-value and technology-intensive exports, build on its traditional strengths and strengthen its participation in global value chains,” he said.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday (September 17, 2025) expressed confidence that India’s exports would grow by around 6% this year compared to the corresponding period in 2024.

Underscoring the country’s strong performance in global trade despite challenges, the Minister said discussions on free trade agreements (FTAs) were advancing with several countries.

“India’s exports would grow by around 6% this year compared to the corresponding period last year. I believe we will end the year on a positive note,” Mr. Goyal told reporters in Mumbai, adding that discussions on free trade agreements (FTAs) were advancing with several countries.

“India’s growing strength and the fact that we will be moving in the Amritkal from a $4 trillion economy to a $30 trillion-plus economy clearly show that India is the place to do business. The world would like to work closer with India,” he added.

The Minister emphasised that India’s domestic momentum and external engagements were reinforcing each other.

“We have recently come out with the lowest unemployment data at 5.1%,” he said.

Addressing the issue of unemployment, the commerce minister said India is a land of opportunities.

“It may be very attractive to keep saying that there is unemployment. However, when I met Larsen and Toubro, they told me they were unable to complete projects on time because they do not get enough workers. In fact, L&T’s IT company is also looking for people,” the Minister said.

He said India is the fastest-growing large economy, and the infrastructure thrust and consumer demand expected from GST 2.0 will give another boost to investment, job creation, and expansion of trade and industry.

Mr. Goyal said several countries were actively pursuing FTAs with India.

“With the European Union, we had good discussions in the last round. Their two commissioners of agriculture and trade visited Delhi, and the discussions made rapid progress. We may have another virtual or physical round soon. EU President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi guided us to complete the negotiations by year-end, and we are continuing to work towards that goal,” he said.

Citing the successful free trade pact with the UAE, the minister said it was the world’s fastest FTA.

“We negotiated, finalised, and signed it in 88 days. Ever since, our exports to the UAE have been growing rapidly. Over 25 lakh Indians live there. I am going for a high-level task force investment dialogue and will meet several investors. Textiles, marine, leather, and pharmaceuticals are particular areas where we are looking for trade expansion and diversification”, he added.

He noted that the UAE was a “gateway for the African region, the Gulf, and Eastern Europe” and a crucial trading partner for India.

“There is a lot of investment interest from the UAE into India. I am very confident that this partnership will only strengthen further,” Mr. Goyal added.

The Minister added that similar discussions were underway with Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Oman and others.

“It is an ongoing process. Many countries want to start discussions on FTAs because India has immense potential,” he said.