India’s Goods Exports Surge in July

India’s merchandise exports surged 19.63% year on year in July to $44.24 billion (around ₹4.22 lakh crore), marking the highest growth since June 2022. However, higher imports pushed the trade deficit to a six month high of $31.98 billion. Imports rose 17.52% to $76.22 billion, mainly due to a 17.64% increase in crude oil imports, which reached $18.31 billion and accounted for nearly 24% of total imports.

Despite global uncertainties, India’s exports to West Asian countries increased 8.62% to $5.70 billion in July. Exports to the UAE rose 10.15% to $3.30 billion, while those to Saudi Arabia declined 2.73% to $763.7 million. Exports to the US and China grew 12.85% and 64.57%, respectively. Higher customs duties affected precious-metal imports, with gold imports rising just 4.77%, while silver imports plunged 66.1%.