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New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) India’s overall exports registered a strong growth of 13.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to reach $80.8 billion in April 2026, despite geopolitical tensions in West Asia disrupting key trade routes and global markets, according to government data released on Friday.

The goods exports rose to a record $43.56 billion in April, compared to $38.28 billion in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, services exports also witnessed healthy growth, increasing to $37.2 billion from $32.8 billion a year ago.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said India’s exports have remained resilient despite regional conflicts and trade disruptions, supported by the country’s strategy of diversifying into new geographies and product markets.

Agrawal further said the government currently does not see elevated crude oil prices hurting India’s export competitiveness. He also indicated that preliminary trends for May 2026 suggest export momentum remains encouraging despite continuing global uncertainties.

India’s overall imports also increased during the month to $88.6 billion from $82.3 billion in April 2025.

Goods imports stood at $71.9 billion against $65.4 billion in the year-ago period, while services imports edged lower to $16.66 billion from $16.9 billion.

As a result, the merchandise trade deficit widened slightly to $28.4 billion in April 2026, compared to $27.1 billion in the corresponding month last year.

The United States remained India’s largest export destination, while China continued to be the country’s biggest source of imports.

Government officials said India has managed to cushion the impact of geopolitical conflicts by expanding into alternative markets.

According to official data, India entered 1,821 new product-country export combinations during FY26 as part of its broader export diversification strategy.

Exports of ships, boats and floating structures generated $57 million across 19 new markets, while exports of nuclear reactor and boiler parts contributed $14.3 million across 13 new destinations.

Meanwhile, India’s gold imports rose sharply to $5.63 billion in April 2026 from $3.1 billion in the same month last year.

Officials said the increase was largely driven by higher unit prices rather than a rise in import volumes. However, gold imports during FY26 declined in quantity terms even as the overall import value increased.

The government noted that higher import duties on gold and silver are likely to affect consumption patterns going forward.

--IANS

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