India’s farm exports outpace overall goods shipments

NEW DELHI : Union Commerce Minister Shri Piyush Goyal on Friday expressed confidence that India’s exports in the current fiscal will surpass last year’s levels, despite potential headwinds from US President Donald Trump’s recent tariff offensive — including a steep 50% duty on Indian goods.

India’s merchandise exports touched $437.4 billion in 2024-25, marking a marginal 0.1% rise from $437.1 billion in the previous fiscal.

The current fiscal has begun on a slightly stronger note. In April–June 2025, total exports stood at $112 billion, up 1.7% from $110.1 billion in the same period last year.

The real bright spot in this outlook is agriculture. Exports of farm produce grew 6.4% in 2024-25, rising from $48.8 billion to $51.9 billion. The momentum has carried into the new fiscal, with April–June 2025 clocking a 5.8% year-on-year increase.

At this pace, agricultural shipments could scale $55 billion in 2025-26, comfortably exceeding the all-time high of $53.2 billion set in 2022-23. In sharp contrast, overall merchandise exports have been treading water, showing little growth and unlikely to surpass the 2022-23 peak of $451.1 billion this year.