India May exports hit record $45.2 billion, deficit widens

India’s merchandise exports surged to a record high of $45.2 billion in May, marking an 18% increase from the same month last year, according to official data released on Monday. Despite this strong performance, the overall trade deficit widened to $10.5 billion as imports grew at an even faster pace.

The export growth was broad-based, with key sectors including petroleum products, engineering goods, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and gems and jewellery all posting significant gains. Engineering goods exports jumped 24.5% to $12.3 billion, while electronics exports rose 11.6% to $5.1 billion. Petroleum product exports saw a sharp increase of 54.9% to $8.42 billion. Major destinations for Indian exports in May included the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China, Singapore, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

However, merchandise imports also rose sharply by 22.1% to $73.4 billion, driven by higher purchases of petroleum, gold, and electronics. Consequently, the merchandise trade deficit expanded to $28.2 billion, up from $22.6 billion in May 2025. Services exports grew 13.2% to $36.8 billion, while services imports increased 14.1% to $19.1 billion. For the...