The trade deficit was $19.1 billion a year earlier. This year, it was $34.68 billion in January and $28.21 billion in May.
Merchandise imports rose 31% from a year earlier to $70.8 billion last month. Crude oil imports jumped 40% to $19.32 billion.
Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the surge in imports was largely driven by higher global prices of crude oil and precious metals, and that the increase did not mean a rise in import volumes.
Electronics Demand
Petroleum, gold and electronics imports added $20 billion to trade deficit, the commerce secretary said. He attributed higher electronics imports to “a rising middle class and disposable incomes and demand in the country.”
India’s exports to West Asia “evened out” in June, recording 7.29% year-on-year growth to $5 billion, the secretary said. Shipments to the region in June 2025 were $4.67 billion.
Shipments to the region had declined in March due to the US-Iran conflict, but improved in April and further in May.
The conflict had impacted the movement of ships carrying cargoes in international waters, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz. After the initial disruption in exports to the region, India used three ports in Oman (Duqm, Sohar and Salalah) to push shipments.
As per the data, engineering goods, petroleum products and electronics remained India’s top exports in the first quarter, with the US, the UAE and Singapore being some of the top export destinations. China, Russia and the US were the largest sources of imports in the April-June period.
“Some of the key factors that have contributed to the double-digit growth in exports include free trade pacts with key partner countries, exporters’ product and market diversification strategy and the rising competitiveness of Brand India products,” said Pankaj Chadha, chairman of trade body EEPC India.
Merchandise exports during April-June, the first quarter of FY27, were $129.32 billion, compared with $111.57 billion a year earlier. The top countries where India’s exports recorded a jump in shipments were South Africa, Singapore, China, Oman and Malaysia.
Electronics, machinery and gold imports grew 58.77% to $13.4 billion, 30.9% to $5.8 billion and 7% to about $2 billion, respectively, in June. Gold imports in the first quarter rose to $11.01 billion from $7.49 billion in the April-June period of last year.
The US and Europe no longer fuel India’s export growth, with countries from the ASEAN region, Africa and South Asia becoming the biggest drivers of growth, the data showed.