India’s merchandise exports jump 45% to $49.47 billion in October

India’s merchandise exports rose to $49.47 billion in October 2026 from $34.11 billion in October 2025, a jump of about 45%, according to quick estimates the Commerce Ministry released on Friday, 13 November. Goods imports grew more slowly over the same period, to $89.35 billion from $76.69 billion.

The gap between the two, the goods trade deficit, came to $39.88 billion for the month. That was $2.70 billion smaller than the $42.58 billion of October 2025. It was, however, wider than in September 2026, when the ministry’s estimates, released on 15 October, put exports at $44.40 billion and imports at $74.61 billion, a deficit of $30.21 billion.

Petroleum products more than double

Petroleum products made the biggest leap. Their exports more than doubled, rising 140.21% to $8.89 billion from $3.70 billion. Electronic goods climbed 62.70% to $6.64 billion, while engineering goods, the largest of the five groups the ministry singled out, rose 36.01% to $12.74 billion. Gems and jewellery and chemicals completed that list.

The growth was not confined to fuel. Non-petroleum exports reached $40.58 billion, up from $30.40 billion. By market, shipments to the United States grew 39.25% over October 2025. Spain, Singapore, Malaysia and China made up the rest of the ministry’s top five destinations by change in value.

Services and the seven-month total

With services included, India’s total exports for October are put at $89.99 billion, 29.90% higher than a year earlier, against total imports of $110.07 billion. The services part, $40.51 billion, is itself an estimate: the latest services data from the Reserve Bank of India are for September 2026.

For April to October 2026, merchandise exports added up to $309.06 billion, 21.96% above the $253.40 billion of the same months in 2025. Imports for the period rose to $527.21 billion, so the cumulative goods deficit widened to $218.15 billion from $199.46 billion. Counting services, total exports for the seven months stand at $568.84 billion, up 16.66%. The ministry also revised its services figures for April-October 2025-26 and April-June 2026-27, adjusting them pro rata to the quarterly balance of payments numbers.