India Balance of Trade

Last Release

Aug 31, 2023

Actual

-24.2

Units In

USD Million

-20.67

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Oct 13, 2023

Time to Release

25 Days 21 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
0.79 Jun 2020	-30 Jul 2022	-3.45 USD Million	1957-2023	N/A

India has been recording sustained trade deficits since 1980 mainly due to the strong imports growth, particularly of mineral fuels, oils and waxes and bituminous substances and pearls, precious and semi-precious stones and jewelry. In recent years, the biggest trade deficits were recorded with China, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia. India records trade surpluses with the US, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Latest Updates

India posted a merchandise trade deficit of USD 24.2 billion in August 2023, the largest gap in ten months and above market expectations of USD 21 billion, mainly due to increased oil prices and a weaker rupee, which raised the import costs. Additionally, elevated commodity prices and weakening foreign demand have put pressure on exports. Imports fell by 5.2% year-on-year to USD 58.64 billion and exports declined by 6.9% to USD 34.48 billion. For the April-August period, merchandise exports fell about 5% year-on-year to USD 306.33 billion, while imports fell 10% to USD 343.81 billion.