In 2025-26, India set new records in global trade, but it wasn’t a smooth sail. Surpluses shifted, and geopolitics kept everyone on their toes. Fresh numbers from the Commerce Ministry show the United States held on to its spot as India’s top export destination. Other major partners included the UAE, China, the Netherlands, the UK, Singapore, Germany, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong. However, the trade surplus with the U.S. contracted from USD 40.88 billion in FY25 to USD 34.41 billion in FY26. This was driven by a sharp rise in imports from the U.S., which climbed to USD 52.90 billion, while exports to the American market saw a modest increase from USD 86.51 billion to USD 87.31 billion, a trend influenced by the tariff environment under the Trump administration.
Things looked pretty different with China. India’s exports to China shot up by 36.7%, climbing from USD 14.25 billion to USD 19.48 billion. That made China the fastest-growing major market for Indian goods. Still, the deficit with China stayed huge. Imports from Beijing jumped, too—USD 113.45 billion up to USD 131.63 billion in a single year.
Our exports to the Middle East in the month of March dipped by USD 3.5 billion, representing a sharp decline of 57.95%. This downward trend was mirrored in inbound trade as well; the import decline from the Middle East was 51.6%, which is a drop of approximately USD 8.7 billion.
Zooming out, India’s overall exports—goods and services combined—blew past USD 860 billion for the first time, landing at USD 860.09 billion. Out of that, merchandise exports made up USD 441.78 billion, powered by a strong March finish of USD 38.92 billion. Engineering goods, petroleum, and minerals led the charge. But imports kept pace, rising 6.47% to hit USD 979.39 billion. This pushed up the national trade deficit to USD 119.30 billion from last year’s USD 94.66 billion.
That shows how the country’s trade ties are getting more varied and resilient, no matter what the world throws at them.
