India’s exports rose by 9 per cent to $38.49 billion in April — the highest in six months — driven by increased shipments of electronics and engineering goods to the US, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.
Tariff uncertainty in the US prompted a 27 per cent surge in India’s exports to Washington , reaching $8.4 billion in April 2025, compared to $6.6 billion in the same month last year. This comes as exporters rushed their orders to beat the reciprocal tariffs announced by the US on April 2 that were later suspended for 90 days.
Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said, “India’s goods and services exports have shown healthy growth during the first month of the new financial year, and there are visible green shoots in sectors such as gems and jewellery.”
However, the goods trade deficit widened to a five-month high of $26.42 billion in April, as imports also rose sharply by 19.12 per cent year-on-year to $64.91 billion, driven by higher shipments of crude oil and fertilisers.
Official data showed that outbound shipments of electronics and engineering goods grew by 39.51 per cent and 11.28 per cent to $3.69 billion and $9.51 billion, respectively.
Moreover, exports of tobacco, coffee, marine products, tea, ready-made garments of all textiles, rice, gems and jewellery, spices, petroleum products, and pharmaceuticals remained in positive territory.
The estimated value of services exports for April 2025 stood at $35.31 billion, compared to $30.18 billion in April 2024. Services imports were estimated at $17.54 billion in April 2025, up from $16.76 billion in the same month last year, the ministry said.
Pankaj Chadha, Chairman of EEPC India, said that despite multiple challenges on the external front, engineering goods exports have begun the fiscal year on a strong note, offering hope that the sector’s outlook will remain positive in the coming months.
“Given the geopolitical issues and uncertainties stemming from the major US trade policy shift, the exporting community needs to chalk out plans for diversifying export destinations,” Chadha said.
