India’s August goods exports hit $43.81 billion, up 26.13%

India’s merchandise exports rose 26.13 per cent year on year in August to $43.81 billion, the highest August figure the commerce ministry has recorded. Imports grew more slowly, 14.1 per cent, to about $70.67 billion. The goods deficit narrowed to $26.86 billion from $27.2 billion a year earlier and from nearly $32 billion in July. A Reuters poll of economists had expected a $32 billion gap.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal briefed on 15 September. Exports were $9.07 billion higher than in August 2025. Imports were $8.71 billion higher. That is why the deficit shrank even though both sides of the ledger grew. July exports had been $44.24 billion, so August was a small step down from the previous month and a large step up from the previous year.

Engineering goods led the outbound list at $12.32 billion, up 25 per cent. Petroleum products, chemicals and textiles also rose. In April-August of 2026-27, engineering exports were $58.70 billion, up 19.55 per cent. Pankaj Chadha, chairman of EEPC India, said high shipping costs, the wars and protectionist rules in rich markets remain the constraints on that sector.

The import mix shifted inside the month. Gold imports fell to $2.3 billion from $4.16 billion in July, which cut the bill. Crude oil imports rose 25.8 per cent year on year to $16.69 billion. Total merchandise imports dropped from July’s $76.22 billion. Services added a separate surplus: exports of $38.87 billion against imports of $21.42 billion. Goods and services together were $82.68 billion out, up 25.41 per cent, and $92.09 billion in, up 18.75 per cent. Merchandise exports for April-August are up 17.85 per cent. Combined exports are up 15.55 per cent.

Agrawal pointed to markets beyond the usual two. Shipments rose to China, Singapore, Germany, South Africa, Malaysia, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Australia, Spain and Sri Lanka. Exports to China were up 38.71 per cent in the first five months of the fiscal year. Exports to BRICS members were up 13.3 per cent in the same window. The Britain trade deal is in force. A broader European Union pact is moving toward implementation.

The numbers arrive in a week when a US sanctions bill on Russia that contemplates 100 per cent tariffs on India is still live in Congress, and when crude prices remain jumpy because of the Iran war and Red Sea risk. August’s export print does not cancel those risks. It shows that, for one month, engineering goods and a collapse in gold imports were enough to beat the deficit forecast by five billion dollars. September will show whether that mix holds once gold demand and the oil bill move again.