India's July exports rise 2.8% to $62.4 billion, trade deficit widens to $9.6 billion

During the month, merchandise exports declined to US$ 33.98 billion from US$ 34.49 billion, while services exports rose to US$ 28.43 billion from US$ 26.22 billion.

India's total exports, including goods and services, stood at US$ 65.47 billion in June.

India's total exports during the first four months (April-July) of 2024-25 are now around USD 260 billion. The government has expressed optimism about reaching its full-year target of USD 800 billion.

According to the data released today, the country's imports have also increased on a year-on-year basis in July. The situation was the same in June as well.

Total imports of both goods and services increased from US$ 67.23 billion to US$ 72.03 billion in July, an increase of about 7.13 per cent.

Talking about the trade deficit, which means the difference between exports and imports, it widened from 6.5 per cent to 9.61 per cent in July.

India recorded record exports of USD 778 billion in the recently concluded financial year 2023-24. The country's combined exports of goods and services stood at USD 776.3 billion in 2022-23.

Overall, service exports rose to US$ 341.1 billion from US$ 325.3 billion in 2023-24. However, merchandise exports declined marginally to US$ 437.1 billion from US$ 451.1 billion.

Various steps taken by the government, including the introduction of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme in various sectors, including electronic goods, to make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investments, boost exports, integrate India into global supply chains and reduce dependence on imports, appear to have paid off.

Total imports declined to US$ 853.8 billion from US$ 898.0 billion in 2022-23. Both merchandise and services exports declined during the financial year.

The overall trade deficit will widen from US$121.6 billion in 2022-23 to US$75.6 billion in 2023-24.