India Exports Jump 23 Percent in September to $44.40 Billion

Goods exports rose 23.04 percent from a year earlier, imports climbed 8 percent, and the goods trade deficit narrowed to 30.21 billion dollars.

India's goods exports rose 23.04 percent from a year earlier in September 2026 to 44.40 billion dollars, the Commerce Ministry said in quick estimates released on Thursday, October 15. Exports stood at 36.08 billion dollars in September a year earlier. The rise gave exporters a stronger month even as imports also climbed and the country continued to buy far more from abroad than it sold.

Imports rose 8 percent to 74.61 billion dollars, from 69.08 billion dollars a year earlier. The goods trade deficit narrowed to 30.21 billion dollars, compared with 33 billion dollars in September 2025. The gap was still wider than in August 2026, when it stood at 26.86 billion dollars, so the year on year improvement came alongside a wider gap than the month before.

Services lift the overall picture

Overall exports, including services, rose 10.99 percent to an estimated 80.75 billion dollars. Overall imports reached 94.05 billion dollars. The combined deficit narrowed to 13.30 billion dollars, from 14.17 billion dollars a year earlier. Those overall figures cover both goods and services, while the goods only figures above show a larger gap between what India sold abroad and what it bought.

What drove the growth

Growth came from engineering goods, chemicals, petroleum products, electronics and agricultural products. Those categories led the rise in goods shipments during the month. On the import side, crude oil remained a major cost. Crude oil imports rose 30.76 percent to 18.34 billion dollars. Imports of coal, chemicals, electronics and machinery also rose during the month.

Precious metals moved the other way. Gold imports fell 81.27 percent to 1.8 billion dollars. Silver imports fell 49.11 percent to 665 million dollars. The steep drops in gold and silver helped limit the import bill at a time when energy purchases were rising and other import categories were also moving higher.

A record second quarter

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said export growth in the second quarter beat the first quarter. Overall exports grew 15.84 percent from July to September, against 11.84 percent from April to June. Overall exports in the second quarter reached an estimated 242.6 billion dollars, the highest ever for a second quarter, against 233.6 billion dollars in the first quarter.

For the period from April to September, exports rose 18.51 percent to 259.89 billion dollars. Imports rose 16.31 percent to 437.53 billion dollars over the same period. The figures show growth on both sides of trade over the six months, with exports rising faster in percentage terms than imports during that period.

Exporters ask for steady support

Exporters group FIEO responded through its chief, SC Ralhan. The group asked for continued policy support for exporters. It also called for competitive export finance, predictable costs for trade and logistics, and faster work to diversify into new markets.

Those requests point to what exporters say they need next. They want the September momentum to last, and they link that goal to finance costs, trade and logistics costs, and access to a wider range of markets. For policymakers, the September data offer encouragement, with a record second quarter now recorded and a goods deficit that was narrower than a year earlier, even if it was wider than in August.