Trade deficit for February widens to $3.96 billion: India’s exports climb 11%, imports surge 21%

India’s combined merchandise and services exports reached $76.13 billion in February 2026, marking an 11.04%increase from $68.56 billion in February 2025, the commerce ministry said on Monday. At the same time, imports surged even more sharply, rising 21.61% to $80.09 billion from $65.84 billion a year earlier. This led to a widened overall trade deficit of $3.96 billion for February, compared with a deficit of $2.72 billion in the same month last year. Merchandise exports in February dipped slightly to $36.61 billion from $36.91 billion, while imports jumped from $51.33 billion to $63.71 billion. Services exports, meanwhile, rose to $39.53 billion from $31.65 billion, and services imports increased to $16.38 billion from $14.51 billion. For the fiscal year so far (April–February), overall exports are estimated at $790.86 billion, up from $747.58 billion in the previous year, reflecting growth of around 5.8 per cent, or roughly $42–43 billion. India had previously set a record with total exports of $824.9 billion in 2024–25, exceeding projections of $800 billion and marking a 6.01 per cent rise from $778.1 billion in 2023–24. Commenting on the data, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said, “The country’s exports are doing well despite challenges.” He added that exports during April–February of FY26 increased 1.84%to $402.93 billion, while imports rose 8.53% to $713.53 billion. Agrawal also warned that March exports could slow due to logistical disruptions caused by the West Asia crisis, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli military action against Iran and has impacted critical trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz.