The data indicates growing utilisation of India’s trade agreements and expanded market access opportunities for exporters, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
An exporter has to submit the certificate at the landing port of the importing country.
The document is important to claim duty concessions under free trade agreements as they are essential to prove where the goods come from.
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“India’s issuance of CoO more than doubled from 3.6 lakh in FY 2021-22 to over 7.8 lakh in FY 2026-27, indicating growing utilisation of India’s trade agreements and expanded market access opportunities for Indian exporters,” he said.
He informed that India’s merchandise exports recorded a robust growth of 16 per cent, increasing from USD 111.57 billion in April – June 2025-26 to USD 129.32 billion in April – June 2026-27.”Merchandise exports to India’s FTA partner countries grew by 25 per cent, rising from USD 34.65 billion to USD 43.14 billion during the same period,” he added.
Consequently, Prasada said the share of FTA partners in the country’s total exports increased from 31.1 per cent to 33.4 per cent during the same period, highlighting the positive role of these pacts in supporting export growth and expanding market access.
India has implemented trade agreements with the UAE, Australia, the EFTA bloc, Oman and the UK.
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In a separate reply, he said the FTA-wise trade analysis indicates that India’s exports have strengthened across several FTA partner countries, reflecting improved market access and enhanced competitiveness, particularly in labour-intensive and high-value sectors such as textiles and apparel, pharma, agriculture and allied products, organic chemicals, and electronics.
“Imports in selected sectors, including petroleum products, machinery and electrical equipment, chemicals, and other intermediate and capital goods, have expanded, facilitating access to energy security, essential raw materials, advanced technologies and critical inputs, thereby supporting domestic manufacturing and enhancing competitiveness,” he added.
Replying to another question, the minister said the country’s import dependence continues to be shaped by the country’s rapid economic growth, industrialisation, urbanisation, expanding manufacturing base, and deeper integration with global value chains (GVCs).
In 2025-26, India’s ten largest import partner countries were China, UAE, Russia, US, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore and Japan.
According to the data provided by the minister, India’s trade deficit with China has increased to USD 112.16 billion in the last fiscal from USD 73.31 billion in 2021-22.