Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 15: India’s merchandise exports edged up to $38.51 billion in December from $38.13 billion in November, showing resilience despite global uncertainties driven by US tariff disputes and ongoing geopolitical tensions, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.
The data also highlighted strong performance in services trade. Services exports in December were estimated at $35.50 billion, while imports stood at $17.38 billion, resulting in a healthy services trade surplus of $18.12 billion.
On the merchandise side, imports increased to $63.55 billion from $62.66 billion in November. This rise led to a slight widening of the merchandise trade deficit to $25.04 billion during the month.
Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said India’s overall export performance remains robust, with cumulative exports rising by 4.33 per cent during the first nine months of the current financial year. He added that total exports for FY26 are projected to reach around $850 billion.
Agrawal also noted that exports to the United States grew by 9.8 per cent during April–December of FY26 compared to the same period last year, reflecting sustained demand in a key market.
To reduce dependence on a limited set of destinations, the government is actively pursuing export diversification by strengthening trade ties with friendly nations, while parallel negotiations with the US are underway to resolve tariff-related issues.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal recently highlighted a series of developments, including progress in trade discussions with the European Union. During a visit to Brussels, Goyal held talks with EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, focusing on critical aspects of the proposed India–EU Free Trade Agreement. He underlined the importance of finalising a fair, balanced and ambitious pact aligned with shared values, economic priorities and a rules-based global trading system.
The minister also visited Liechtenstein to review the implementation of the India–EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, signalling India’s push to deepen economic engagement with European partners.
In addition, Goyal pointed to the initial rollout of the Export Promotion Mission, under which two key initiatives have been launched through the NIRYAT PROTSAHAN sub-scheme. These measures aim to strengthen MSME exports by reducing export costs, improving cash flow and liquidity, expanding access to trade finance, easing bank loan availability without heavy collateral requirements, and encouraging small businesses to tap into new global markets.