Goods imports surged 16.7% to $68.53 billion, driven by higher purchases of gold, silver, fertilisers and electronics.
India’s trade deficit was $26.5 billion in August.
Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said despite global economic turbulence and headwinds, India’s goods and services exports are performing well. He attributed the growth in shipments to the resilience of domestic industry, which has continued to support export momentum.
“They are maintaining their supply chains and business relations,” he said.
Engineering goods, electronics, petroleum products and drugs and pharmaceuticals were the export drivers in September.The impact of the US tariffs on exports will be evident in September and October, and the commerce ministry plans to assess commodity-wise data to understand the impact of the tariffs. The US has imposed 50% tariffs on India effective August 27 of which half are penalty for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.”We need to do a deep dive into the data to understand how commodities are faring after the US tariffs. About 45% of India’s exports to the US are outside the tariffs or have an MFN kind of status,” Agrawal noted, adding that he expects exports to the US to continue to grow.
The US in August raised tariffs on its imports from India to 50%, on par with Brazil.
In April-September FY26, exports increased 3.02% to $220.12 billion and imports rose 4.53% to $375.11 billion, data released by the commerce ministry Wednesday showed.
The first half of the current fiscal has seen India’s merchandise trade deficit widen to nearly $10 billion higher than the same period a year earlier.
“The imports have grown at a faster pace in September, driven by increase in gold, silver, fertilisers and electronics,” he said, adding that the surge in gold demand was ahead of the festival season.
However, cumulative gold import has been below last year, officials said.
Gold imports rose to $9.6 billion last month, compared to $5.4 billion in August, while oil imports stood at $14 billion in September, up from $13.2 billion in the previous month.
The rise in gold imports can be attributed to Diwali and a pick-up in rural spending.
As production and export of smartphones increase, some components have also seen higher surge, officials added.
“Department of Commerce acknowledges the latest growth projections for India as published in the October 2025 update of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook (WEO),” the ministry said.
India’s GDP growth is now projected to reach 6.6% in 2025, followed by 6.2% in 2026.
“India continues to be a bright spot in the global economy and the Department of Commerce will work in close coordination with concerned stakeholders to sustain this momentum and ensure inclusive, sustainable growth,” it said.
FTA talks
The proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the EU is in the last leg of negotiations and “chances are talks may close by December”, Agrawal said.
“The talks are progressing well… and we are hopeful it will be concluded soon. In the last leg the toughest things are decided as they are kept for the end. We saw real progress in the last round that took place and we are hopeful that our teams will iron out remaining differences and talks will conclude soon,” Agrawal said.
The 14th round of talks for the FTA took place in Brussels between October 6 and 10 with discussions covering 12 policy chapters across 91 technical sessions, with a focus on areas such as market access for goods, services and rules of origin.
He added that virtual engagement is ongoing between India and the EU while in-person interactions are expected in November.
“Some officials of the Indian team stayed back in Brussels to further talks and make progress on rules of origin. So, we haven’t scheduled another formal round of talks since engagement is ongoing,” he said.
as a Reliable and Trusted News SourceThe next round of talks for the FTA with New Zealand is likely to be held in November, while negotiations for the deal with Oman have concluded.