India’s merchandise exports jumped 26.12% in August to $43.81 billion, sharply outpacing import growth and helping narrow the monthly trade deficit despite a steep rise in global crude oil prices.
Merchandise imports rose 14.1% to $70.67 billion, leaving the trade deficit at $26.86 billion, lower than $27.20 billion in August last year and $31.98 billion in July.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the export momentum was continuing to build, with the latest numbers indicating that the surge was supported not only by higher prices but also by increased export volumes. The recovery began in April despite the supply chain disruptions caused by the West Asian war and US tariff assault. For the five consecutive months through August, goods export growth was in double digits. The high export growth in August was also aided by a relatively low base (5.7%).
Gold imports dipped 58% to $2.3 billion in August, helping contain the overall import bill.
The August performance was even stronger in rupee terms, with merchandise exports rising 37.6% to Rs 4.18 lakh crore. The government said 68 principal commodity groups recorded both value and volume growth, suggesting that higher shipments, rather than price effects alone, were driving the expansion.
For the April-August period, merchandise exports rose 17.85% to $215.91 billion, while imports increased 18.2% to around $363 billion.
Combined exports of goods and services reached $399.27 billion, an increase of 15.55% over the year-earlier period.
The export expansion was broad-based in August. Electronic goods exports rose 89.8% to $5.55 billion, petroleum product exports grew 63.2% to $6.80 billion, while engineering goods that account for more than a quarter of total merchandise exports were up 24.8% to $12.31 billion. Chemical exports expanded 16.3% to $2.79 billion while pharma exports grew 3.84% to $2.60 billion.
The growth in petroleum product exports was due to high crude oil prices which averaged $91 per barrel in August 2026, up 30-40% year-on-year. It fed into the growth in imports too.
India also recorded strong growth across a wider set of overseas markets. Exports to the US were up 21.8% to $8.31 billion while shipments to China expanded 52.3% to $1.83 billion. Exports to the UAE were down 26.15% to $2.37 billion due to disruptions caused by war in the region.
Exports to Singapore were up 160.9% to $1.87 billion, to Germany 19.8% to $1.10 billion, and to Tanzania 214.5% to $926.08 million.
Services exports provided an additional boost, rising 24.6% in August to $38.87 billion. Services imports, however, grew faster at 37.4 per cent to $21.42 billion.
On the import side, higher energy requirements and demand for critical manufacturing inputs continued to drive the bill. Crude oil imports were up 25.8% to $16.6 billion and electronics goods imports expanded 40.0% to $13.65 billion.
Agrawal said the broad-based performance across commodities and markets reflected India’s expanding global footprint and efforts to diversify trade and build more resilient supply chains.