India's goods trade deficit narrowed to $27.1 billion in February from $34.68 billion a month earlier after the country got a relief on steep tariffs from the United States. Merchandise imports surged 24% year-on-year to $63.71 billion while exports were steady $36.61 billion last month, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday.
Total exports jumped 11% year-on-year to $76.13 billion and imports surged 22% to $80.09 billion.
The Commerce Secretary warned that exports will see a downtrend in March given the disruption caused due to the Iran War.
India's cumulative exports of merchandise and services are estimated at $790.86 billion during April–February of the current fiscal, compared to $747.58 billion in the same period last year, registering an estimated growth of 5.8%.
The US remained India's top export destination during this period, followed by the United Arab Emirates and China.
The total goods and services exports for FY26 is estimated to be around $860 billion amid trade disruptions, the secretary said. "Till 11 months so far, we're still in positive territory. Sure that we'll remain in positive territory vis-a-vis last year but externalities can't be controlled by us," he said.
The Modi government had set an ambitious export trade target of $1 trillion for the current financial year, compared to $821 billion in FY25.
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