In 2023, India's trade deficit of goods amounted to around *** billion U.S. dollars. Balance of trade The trade balance, also called commercial balance or balance of trade, is the difference between the value of a country’s exports and its imports over a certain timespan. If a country exports more goods or services than in imports, the trade balance is positive – a so-called trade surplus. If a country imports more than it exports, the trade balance is in the red – a trade deficit. Among other factors, trade is affected by production, currency exchange rates, and taxes, and of course by the availability of raw materials and prices of goods. India’s trade is in the red The reason for India’s persistent trade deficit is simple: The country imports far more than it exports. India is a very fast-growing economy with the majority of its GDP generated by services, while most of its workforce is employed in agriculture. India’s main imports include chemicals, crude oil, and machinery, while India exports textiles, software, petroleum products, and leather goods. One reason for the increasing trade deficit is the price of crude oil and its rapid economic growth, which means that export trade now needs to catch up to the demand.

India recorded a trade deficit of 21.88 USD Billion in May of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - India Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for International Merchandise Trade Statistics: Trade Balance: Commodities for India (XTNTVA01INM667N) from Jan 1990 to Apr 2025 about India, trade, Net, and goods.

Graph and download economic data for International Merchandise Trade Statistics: Trade Balance: Commodities for India (XTNTVA01INQ667N) from Q1 1990 to Q1 2025 about India, trade, Net, and goods.

India's trade deficit with China was over 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. The value of bilateral trade between the two countries was worth more than 136 billion U.S. dollars for the same year. India-China bilateral trade has rapidly expanded, propelling China to become India's largest goods trading partner.

In 2024, China's merchandise trade surplus amounted to around 992.2 billion U.S. dollars, significantly higher than in the previous year. The merchandise trade balance is the value of exported goods minus the value of imported goods. A positive value indicates a trade surplus, while a negative value indicates a trade deficit. Trade balance and partnersIn 2024, Chinese imports of goods amounted to approximately 2.59 trillion U.S. dollars, whereas total exports added up to about 3.58 trillion U.S. dollars. In contrast, China’s invisible trade balance, an indicator measuring services and government transfers between countries, closed with a deficit and ranged at about -92 billion U.S. dollars at the end of 2022. Being an economy heavily reliant on export, China ranked first among countries with the highest trade surplus, followed by Germany and Russia. The United States, with imports exceeding exports by approximately 1.15 trillion U.S. dollars that year, ranked first among leading import countries worldwide. In 2023, the value of the U.S. imports from China exceeded the exports to China by around 279.4 billion U.S. dollars. Another important trade partner for China is the European Union. In 2023, the EU imported around 514 billion euro-worth of goods from China, leading to a trade deficit of around 291 billion euros. Product categories with the highest trade deficit were mostly finished goods such as machinery and transport equipment, clothing, and other manufactures, whereas product categories with a more balanced trade sheet consisted of raw materials and agricultural products to a large extent.

High Frequency Indicator: The dataset contains year- and month-wise historically compiled data from the year 2007 to till date on the India's top 25 trading countries with trading of goods by import and export, along with details of country-wise value, both in indian rupees and u.s. dollars, of imports, exports and trade balance.

India Trade Balance: USD: Oil data was reported at -14.110 USD bn in Mar 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of -6.078 USD bn for Feb 2025. India Trade Balance: USD: Oil data is updated monthly, averaging -7.544 USD bn from Apr 2011 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 168 observations. The data reached an all-time high of -1.814 USD bn in May 2020 and a record low of -14.481 USD bn in Oct 2024. India Trade Balance: USD: Oil data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Foreign Trade – Table IN.JAA001: Trade in Merchandise.

India Trade Balance: USD: Non-Oil & Non-Gold data was reported at -3.590 USD bn in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of -6.450 USD bn for Feb 2025. India Trade Balance: USD: Non-Oil & Non-Gold data is updated monthly, averaging -7.060 USD bn from May 2017 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 95 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.910 USD bn in Jun 2020 and a record low of -13.920 USD bn in Sep 2022. India Trade Balance: USD: Non-Oil & Non-Gold data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Foreign Trade – Table IN.JAA001: Trade in Merchandise.

High Frequency Indicator: The dataset contains year-, state- and commodity-wise compiled data from the year 2007 to till date value, both in indian rupees and in u.s. dollars, of imports and exports made to and from India and trade balance available on different commodities such as Coffee, tea, mate and spices, animals and their products, seeds and their products, Beverages, Food items and other things

This statistic shows the United States goods trade deficit with China from 2014 to 2024. In 2024, the value of U.S. imports from China exceeded the exports to China by around ***** billion U.S. dollars.

India's total Exports in 2024 were valued at US$434.44 Billion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. India's main export partners were: the United States, the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands. The top three export commodities were: Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products; Electrical, electronic equipment and Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers. Total Imports were valued at US$697.75 Billion. In 2024, India had a trade deficit of US$263.31 Billion.

Key information about India's Trade Balance

• India's Trade Balance recorded a deficit of 23.0 USD bn in Jan 2025, compared with a deficit of 21.9 USD bn in the previous month
• India's Trade Balance data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1957 to Jan 2025, with an averaged value of -420.4 USD mn
• The data reached an all-time high of 709.6 USD mn in Jun 2020 and a record low of -31.8 USD bn in Nov 2024

• In the latest reports, India's Total Exports reached 36.4 USD bn in Jan 2025, an increase of 14.5% YoY (year-on-year)
• Total Imports recorded 59.4 USD bn in Jan 2025, an increase of 14.5% YoY (year-on-year)

India Exports to Nepal was US$6.95 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. India Exports to Nepal - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on July of 2025.

China accounted for an average of ** percent in imports supporting select industries in India in financial year 2019. Electrical machinery and equipment accounted for the highest in that time period at ** percent. Plastics, on the other hand acquired ** percent of imports from China that year. India depended on China for a variety of products spread across multiple industries.

Trade relationship between India and China

The trade relationship between the two major global economies started a few decades ago. However, India has had an unfavorable trade balance with China as the trade deficit gap has widened over the years. The Indian food product imports has struggled and it is evident in its decreased value since 2008. In 2019, China was India’s leading import partner. For the same year, China was also the second leading export partner of India.

India’s export value

India exported a variety of products to a long list of countries in the world. In 2019, engineering goods valued at more than ************* Indian rupees was the leading commodity exported by India. The economic slowdown in 2019 and the current lockdown during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected industrial production across all sectors. Following this, the country's exports saw a drastic decline in various products.

India Trade Balance: USD: Non-Oil data was reported at -7.430 USD bn in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of -7.973 USD bn for Feb 2025. India Trade Balance: USD: Non-Oil data is updated monthly, averaging -7.131 USD bn from Apr 2011 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 168 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.751 USD bn in Jun 2020 and a record low of -27.589 USD bn in Aug 2024. India Trade Balance: USD: Non-Oil data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Foreign Trade – Table IN.JAA001: Trade in Merchandise.

India Trade Balance: INR: Non-Oil data was reported at -694,097.900 INR mn in Feb 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of -1,131,286.781 INR mn for Jan 2025. India Trade Balance: INR: Non-Oil data is updated monthly, averaging -435,467.958 INR mn from Apr 2011 (Median) to Feb 2025, with 167 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 284,086.107 INR mn in Jun 2020 and a record low of -2,314,633.097 INR mn in Aug 2024. India Trade Balance: INR: Non-Oil data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Foreign Trade – Table IN.JAA001: Trade in Merchandise.

Net trade in goods and services of India plummeted by 35.89% from -134,660,965,223 US dollars in 2022 to -86,329,729,820 US dollars in 2023. Since the 787.53% surge in 2021, net trade in goods and services rocketed by 16.60% in 2023. Net trade in goods and services is derived by offsetting imports of goods and services against exports of goods and services. Exports and imports of goods and services comprise all transactions involving a change of ownership of goods and services between residents of one country and the rest of the world. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

The dataset contains year- and quarter-wise historically compiled data from the year 1990-91 to till date on the value (in both Indian rupees and us dollars) of credit and debit transaction performed in current accounts in the overall balance of payments compiled by Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Notes:

1. The current account in India‚ Balance of Payments (BoP) statistics distinguishes between merchandise and non-merchandise transactions and, accordingly, comprises two major heads, Invisible (merchandise) account and an Invisible (non-merchandise) account. Invisibles, in turn, have three sub-categories, viz., services, transfers and income. Traditionally, a distinction is made between goods and services in the current account to take into account the differences in the nature of their production and international trade. While in the case of goods, international trade is conducted separately from production, in the case of services, the two are closely linked, as the production process of services involves a resident and non-resident

2. The term G.n.i.e in the dataset denotes to Government goods and services not included elsewhere (G.n.i.e)

The largest portion of India's imports originated from China, representing more than 15 percent of the total imports in the financial year 2024, with Russia following at over nine percent. Conversely, during the same period, India's primary exports were directed towards the United States. India’s import mix India's imports encompass a wide range of goods, with some key commodities dominating the landscape. Among these critical imports are crude oil, gold, and petroleum products. Crude oil, constituting approximately 20 percent of total imports, is critical due to the nation’s reliance on energy sources. In addition, India, as a major textile producer, has witnessed a significant rise in textile imports over the years to meet the diverse consumer and industrial demands. Trade balance In the recent past, the country experienced a notable change in its trade balance-to-GDP ratio. This ratio, which reflects the relationship between the country's trade activities and the size of its economy, saw a significant decrease of 8.5 percent in fiscal year 2023. In other words, the country was importing more goods and services than it was exporting during the period.