India's Trade Deficit Widens To USD 3.63 Bn In March 2025

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, April 16 (KNN) India's trade deficit expanded significantly in March 2025, reaching USD 3.63 billion compared to USD 1.92 billion in March 2024, according to government data released on Tuesday.

The monthly deficit widened to USD 21.54 billion, up substantially from February's three-year low of USD 14.05 billion.

Despite the widening deficit, India's overall exports, combining merchandise and services, demonstrated steady growth, increasing to USD 73.61 billion in March 2025 from USD 71.71 billion in March 2024.

Total imports climbed to USD 77.23 billion in March 2025, up from USD 73.63 billion in the previous year.

While the increased trade activity suggests strong economic momentum, the expanding trade gap underscores the need for continued focus on export promotion and careful management of import dependencies in strategic sectors.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal highlighted several positive developments in the trade data, noting that non-petroleum merchandise exports reached an all-time high of USD 37.07 billion, representing 6.0 percent growth compared to USD 36.28 billion in 2023-24.

"Our overall exports will be the highest ever, and they have crossed a threshold of USD 820 billion. We will be waiting for the final figures of services, but our internal assessment is that it will go even above by two more billion dollars. So it should be a figure of more than USD 842 billion," Barthwal stated.

He emphasised this as a significant achievement, representing an increase of over USD 42 billion from last year's USD 770 billion.

The Commerce Secretary also raised concerns about potential merchandise dumping into India resulting from reciprocal tariffs amid ongoing global trade tensions.

He warned that rising US costs could prompt exporters from countries facing US trade deficits-such as China, Vietnam, and Indonesia-to redirect their goods to India, potentially triggering import surges in vulnerable product categories.

In response to these risks, Barthwal announced the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee for import surge monitoring, with representation from the Department of Commerce (DoC), Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

This committee is actively monitoring both weekly and monthly import trends by commodities and countries to identify and address potential trade disruptions.

(KNN Bureau)

MENAFN16042025000155011030ID1109438220