Synopsis
On April 15, FIEO urged the Indian government for strategic support to sustain trade growth momentum as overall exports increased by 5.5% in FY25, achieving $820.93 billion. This call highlights the resilience of the export sector amidst global challenges.Key Takeaways
- 5.5% growth in overall exports in FY25.
- S.C. Ralhan emphasizes services sector performance.
- Merchandise exports rose by 0.08%.
- Trade deficit reached $282.82 billion.
- Call for enhanced export competitiveness.
New Delhi, April 15 (NationPress) The Federation of Indian Exports Organisations (FIEO) on Tuesday called upon the Centre for strategic support to maintain the momentum of trade growth, as overall exports experienced a robust increase of 5.5 percent in FY25, reaching $820.93 billion.
This growth underscores the resilience of the export sector amidst escalating global geopolitical tensions and trade interruptions.
FIEO President S.C. Ralhan praised the growth, emphasizing the strong performance of the services sector, which significantly contributed to balancing the modest rise in merchandise exports.
Merchandise exports for FY 2024-25 saw a slight increase of 0.08 percent to $437.42 billion, while imports surged by 6.62 percent to $720.24 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $282.82 billion.
In March 2025 alone, exports grew by 0.7 percent year-on-year to $41.97 billion, while imports rose 11.3 percent to $63.51 billion, leading to a monthly trade deficit of $21.54 billion.
Ralhan advocated for strategic measures to sustain export growth, including enhancing export competitiveness, diversifying products and markets, addressing logistics and infrastructure deficiencies, and easing regulatory hurdles to improve access to affordable credit.
He reaffirmed FIEO’s commitment to collaborating with the government and industry to ensure continued growth despite global challenges.
According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, exports recorded a 13.75 percent increase in March compared to the previous month, while imports increased by 24.6 percent.
These figures emerge amid turmoil in global markets following the rise in US tariffs. India is currently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US, which has agreed to pause the duty increase for a 90-day period.
The initial phase of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US is expected to be finalized within the 90-day tariff pause established by the Donald Trump administration, according to official sources.
