India's exports under free trade pacts grew faster than imports in April-July: Piyush Goyal

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted that India's exports under free trade agreements (FTAs) are outpacing imports, marking a positive shift in the utilization of these pacts. In the April to July period of the current fiscal year, outbound shipments to FTA partners surged by 23.9 percent to USD 57.2 billion, surpassing the 13.9 percent growth in exports to non-FTA markets.

Consequently, the proportion of FTA partners in India's total exports increased from 31.1 percent to 32.9 percent. The trade deficit with FTA partners also narrowed from USD 34.2 billion to USD 32.6 billion.

Goyal pointed out that Singapore's exports nearly doubled, contributing about USD 4 billion to the growth, while Oman's outbound trade expanded by USD 0.6 billion following the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on June 1, 2026. He noted that exporters are gradually overcoming structural bottlenecks to fully leverage these pacts.

For years, critics argued that India signed FTAs but failed to use them effectively. However, this time, the pattern has changed as exporters are now capitalizing on these opportunities to expand their global footprint and access new markets.

Overall merchandise exports for the four-month period reached USD 173.8 billion, a 17 percent increase compared to USD 148.5 billion in the same period last year. Combined with services exports of USD 145 billion, India's total exports amounted to nearly USD 319 billion. African markets showed significant gains, with Tanzania's imports rising by USD 2 billion, South Africa's imports adding USD 1.7 billion, and Kenya recording a USD 1.1 billion increase.

While African markets present enormous opportunities for India's exports in various sectors such as pharmaceuticals, engineering products, automobiles, food products, textiles, and technology, the minister acknowledged that a four-month period represents a relatively short timeframe. Export performance during this period may have been influenced by one-time shipments that may not be repeated in subsequent quarters.

Goyal emphasized that exporters identified these markets independently, and the government's role is to streamline paperwork, facilitate credit, ensure efficient port operations, maximize the benefits of these agreements, and remove obstacles to enable exporters to take full advantage of these opportunities.