Piyush Goyal: India’s Exports Grow 6.75% In September Despite Widening Trade Deficit

India is expected to see positive growth in exports in the current fiscal year, despite ongoing uncertainties in global trade, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.

Addressing a joint press conference in the national capital on the impact of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate rationalisation, Goyal highlighted that India’s exports have grown by six to seven per cent overall, with merchandise exports showing a “good story” in the first half of the fiscal year. "There is resilience, there is confidence, there is demand for our goods and services across the world, and India will continue on this growth trajectory", ANI reported.

According to official data released on 15 October, India’s merchandise exports in September rose 6.75 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to USD 36.38 billion, compared to USD 34.08 billion in the same month last year. Merchandise imports, however, increased 16.7 per cent YoY to USD 68.53 billion, up from USD 58.74 billion.

Combining merchandise and services, India’s trade deficit widened to USD 16.61 billion in September 2025, compared to USD 8.60 billion in the same month of the previous year.

According to ANI, on the issue of bilateral trade agreements, Goyal said that negotiations with the United States are ongoing in a cordial environment, despite a 50 per cent tariff imposed by the US on Indian goods.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified the context of the recent GST reforms, stating they were implemented to ease the burden on the common people and not as a response to international tariff disputes. According to ANI, Sitharaman said, "This has been in the works for one-and-a-half years. Who had thought of any tariff war at that time… several groups of ministers were working on this… This had to happen. This was waiting to happen for quite some time. It has happened now."

The ministers’ comments come amid efforts to stabilise India’s trade performance and ensure policy measures such as GST reforms support both domestic consumption and export growth.

(With inputs from ANI)