India's Trade at a Glance

What India sells to the world and buys from it, who its biggest trading partners are, and why it usually runs a goods trade deficit but a services surplus.

India is one of the world’s largest economies, but for most of its modern history it traded relatively little. That has changed a lot since the 1990s.

What India exports

Services: software, IT services, business services and consulting - India’s strongest export area.
Refined petroleum products: India imports crude oil, refines it and exports fuels.
Engineering goods: machinery, auto parts and vehicles.
Electronics: especially smartphones, a fast-growing category.
Pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, chemicals, textiles and garments, and rice and other farm products.

What India imports

Crude oil and gas, the single largest import.
Electronics and components.
Gold, which Indian households buy in large amounts.
Machinery, chemicals, coal and fertilisers.

Main partners

The United States is India’s largest export market. China is one of its largest sources of imports, especially electronics and machinery, leaving India with a large trade deficit with China. The UAE, the European Union, Saudi Arabia and Russia, a major oil supplier since 2022, are other key partners.

Deficit and surplus

India usually runs a deficit in goods trade, because oil, gold and electronics imports exceed goods exports. But it runs a large surplus in services and receives huge remittances from Indians working abroad. Together, these keep the overall current account deficit modest in most years.

Why trade matters for India

Exports create jobs, especially in labour-intensive sectors.
Imports supply energy, technology and inputs India lacks.
Trade competition can raise productivity.

India’s combined goods and services exports have grown to several hundred billion dollars a year, but its share of world goods exports remains small compared with China’s, which many see as a missed opportunity.

The phone in your pocket

A smartphone assembled in a factory near Chennai contains chips imported from Taiwan, a screen from South Korea and parts from China. Once assembled, it may be exported to the United States. The same product shows up in India's imports and its exports.

Thinking a trade deficit always means an economy is weak

India's goods deficit reflects oil and gold imports, while strong services exports and remittances balance much of it.

Key takeaways

India's top exports include services, fuels, engineering goods, electronics and medicines.
Oil, electronics and gold are its biggest imports.
The US is the largest export market; China a major source of imports.
A goods deficit is offset by a services surplus and remittances.