In 2018, India's trade deficit of goods amounted to around 189.69 billion U.S. dollars, a significant slump after a steady recovery towards the black since 2013.

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 probably the price of crude oil and the rapid economic growth, which means that export trade now needs to catch up to the demand.

In fiscal year 2024, the trade balance to gross domestic product ratio in India declined to 7.4 percent. This was almost the same as compared to the previous fiscal year.

Graph and download economic data for International Merchandise Trade Statistics: Trade Balance: Commodities for India (XTNTVA01INM664N) from Jan 1990 to Feb 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: Trade Balance: Emerging and Developing Economies: Emerging and Developing Asia: Malaysia data was reported at -993.590 USD mn in Mar 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of -744.490 USD mn for Dec 2017. IN: Trade Balance: Emerging and Developing Economies: Emerging and Developing Asia: Malaysia data is updated quarterly, averaging -89.440 USD mn from Mar 1966 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 209 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 105.548 USD mn in Mar 2009 and a record low of -2.050 USD bn in Sep 2014. IN: Trade Balance: Emerging and Developing Economies: Emerging and Developing Asia: Malaysia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.IMF.DOT: Trade Balance: by Country: Quarterly.

At the end of fiscal year 2022, the value for the balance of trade India had with Latin American and Caribbean countries was a deficit of over six billion U.S. dollars. The balance of trade calculates the comparison of exports against imports, determining a surplus (when exports outweigh imports) or a deficit (when imports are more than exports) of trade. The trade balance is also a component of a country's GDP.

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 295.4 billion U.S. dollars.

Exports in India decreased to 38.49 USD Billion in April from 41.97 USD Billion in March of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - India Exports - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

India IN: Trade Balance: Advanced Economies: Belgium data was reported at 257.640 USD mn in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of -2.120 USD bn for 2016. India IN: Trade Balance: Advanced Economies: Belgium data is updated yearly, averaging -1.910 USD bn from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 257.640 USD mn in 2017 and a record low of -5.409 USD bn in 2014. India IN: Trade Balance: Advanced Economies: Belgium data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.IMF.DOT: Trade Balance: by Country: Annual.

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)

India IN: Trade Balance: Advanced Economies: Slovak Republic data was reported at 12.260 USD mn in Mar 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 9.010 USD mn for Dec 2017. India IN: Trade Balance: Advanced Economies: Slovak Republic data is updated quarterly, averaging 0.293 USD mn from Jun 1993 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 89 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24.350 USD mn in Mar 2017 and a record low of -52.908 USD mn in Mar 2015. India IN: Trade Balance: Advanced Economies: Slovak Republic data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.IMF.DOT: Trade Balance: by Country: Quarterly.

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.

India Trade Balance: Annual: USD: Non Oil data was reported at -89.017 USD bn in 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of -90.861 USD bn for 2018. India Trade Balance: Annual: USD: Non Oil data is updated yearly, averaging -929.100 USD mn from Mar 1971 (Median) to 2019, with 49 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.804 USD bn in 2001 and a record low of -90.861 USD bn in 2018. India Trade Balance: Annual: USD: Non Oil data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Reserve Bank of India. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.JAA001: Trade Statistics.

India IN: Trade Balance data was reported at -41.774 USD bn in Mar 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of -44.059 USD bn for Dec 2017. India IN: Trade Balance data is updated quarterly, averaging -1.271 USD bn from Mar 1960 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 233 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 321.861 USD mn in Mar 1993 and a record low of -54.995 USD bn in Dec 2012. India IN: Trade Balance data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.IMF.DOT: Trade Balance: by Country: Quarterly.

This page displays a table with India Imports By Country in U.S. dollars, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.

At the end of fiscal year 2021, the value for the balance of trade India had with Northeast Asian countries was a deficit of more than 66 billion U.S. dollars. The balance of trade calculates the comparison of exports against imports, determining a surplus (when exports outweigh imports) or a deficit (when imports are more than exports) of trade. The trade balance is also a component of a country's GDP.

India IN: Trade Balance: Countries or Area Not Specified data was reported at 175.890 USD mn in May 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 184.410 USD mn for Apr 2018. India IN: Trade Balance: Countries or Area Not Specified data is updated monthly, averaging -94.453 USD mn from Apr 1964 (Median) to May 2018, with 315 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.693 USD bn in Sep 2011 and a record low of -3.643 USD bn in Sep 2005. India IN: Trade Balance: Countries or Area Not Specified data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.IMF.DOT: Trade Balance: by Country: Monthly.

This statistic shows the 20 countries with the highest trade surplus worldwide in 2023. In 2023, China was the country with the highest trade surplus with approximately 822.69 billion U.S. dollars. The leading trade nations Typically a trade surplus indicates a sign of economic success and a trade deficit indicates an economic weakness. However, if that were true, then the top four, China, Germany, Russia and Ireland, would be considered the best performing countries in the world. However, this would mean that the United States, Great Britain, India and France would be among the weakest nations considering that they are four countries with the highest trade deficit. In fact, they are leading industrial nations. While China is known for producing and exporting products at a competitive price, it has undervalued its exchange rate in order to promote exports. However, China is now working to reduce its reliance on exports even though they continue to export large and increasing quantities of goods. In the case of Germany, the value of the euro may not be high enough, however growth concerning the value of exports has slowed over the past few years. In contrast, the value of the dollar in the United States may be too high, favoring imports as opposed to exports.

In fiscal year 2023, the value for the balance of trade India had with Israel was over 6,127 million U.S. dollars. During the same time period, the value for the balance of trade India had with Egypt was 2,157 million dollars. The balance of trade calculates the comparison of exports against imports, determining a surplus (when exports outweigh imports) or a deficit (when imports are more than exports) of trade. The trade balance is also a component of a country's GDP.

India recorded a Current Account deficit of 0.70 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2023. This dataset provides - India Current Account to GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.