A crow flies past a container ship docked at a port in Vallarpadam in the southern Indian city of Kochi
Credit: FIle Photo
New Delhi: India's trade deficit widened to $23 billion in January from $21.94 billion recorded in December as import bills jumped partly due to a sharp decline in the value of rupee, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed on Monday.
The country’s merchandise exports in January 2025 declined to $36.43 billion from $38.01 billion in the previous month. It stood at $37.32 billion January 2024.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ashwani Kumar said the decline in exports was due to volatility in commodity and metal prices, as well as ongoing trade disruptions such as the tariff war and currency fluctuations.
“The depreciating value of the Indian rupee, which has fallen by 1.4% against the US dollar since the beginning of the year, further exacerbates the nation's trade challenges. It has contributed to higher import bills, especially since India meets 90% of its oil demand from overseas,” Kumar said.
Merchandise imports rose to $59.42 billion in January from $53.88 billion in the same month last year. In December 2024 it stood at $59.95 billion.
Addressing a media briefing, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said cumulative exports during April-January were higher than the same period last year. Merchandise exports in April-January FY25 stood at $358.91 billion, 1.39% higher when compared with the corresponding period of FY24
Cumulative merchandise imports during the first ten months of the current financial year rose to $601.90 billion from $560.27 billion recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
In November the gap between India’s imports and exports had jumped to $32.8 billion. It stood at $27.4 billion in October.
There was a robust increase in exports of rice, electronic goods, gems & jewellery, marine products and electronic goods. Rice exports surged by 44.61% year-on-year during January. Electronic goods exports jumped by 78.97% while engineering goods posted a growth of 7.44%.
“India's engineering exports continue to show resilience despite several external challenges,” said Pankaj Chadha, Chairman, Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC India).