Exports Remain Flat in June, Keeping Trade Deficit at $18.78 Billion

As the economy is getting back on track, India’s trade deficit also narrowed in the month of June 2025. The government data for the same, released yesterday, 15 July, shows that the trade deficit for June 2025 has come down to $18.78 billion, compared to $21.88 billion in the month of May. This has even breached the economists’ anticipations of the trade gap increasing to at least $22.24 billion in June. 

So, what helped the trade gap narrow? Let’s find out. 

India’s Export Growth 

During June 2025, the growth of Indian exports remained flat at $35.14 billion, almost at par with the June’24 number, which stood at $35.16 billion. However, the trade deficit narrowed as India imported less in June compared to last June. This June, India’s imports declined 3.71% YoY to $53.92 billion from last June’s $56 billion. 

On the other hand, the services sector exported in excess of the imports. Trade in services for the month is anticipated to show a surplus of $15.62 billion, as services exports stood at $32.84 billion while the imports of services stood at $17.58 billion in June. 

Government’s Push for Improving Trade Balance

To increase India’s exports and develop more self-reliance, the Indian government has started Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, which cover 14 sectors, including Electronics to Electronic vehicles batteries whose production have been increased to cater to the increasing domestic demand and to place India in the global race as a supply chain giant in the electronic and EV space. 

On the other hand, India is also widening its Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)’ reach and has entered into recent agreements with the UK and UAE. The negotiations are underway with the US, and as per Suni Barthwal, Commerce Secretary, these FTAs are crucial for the GCC ecosystem. 

Outlook and Targets

The Indian government has set a target of $1 trillion of exports by the end of FY26. For this, it is bringing structural reforms as well as stressing global partnerships for boosting trade. India’s total export stood at $824.9 billion in FY2, which was a 6.01% rise from $778.1 billion of 2024’s exports. 

Source: TheEconomicsTimes

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