India's export sector has delivered a powerful message of resilience and global competitiveness in by far in 2025-26, recording its highest-ever quarterly exports in both Q1 and Q2, and culminating in the highest-ever export performance for the first half of any financial year.
This achievement comes at a time when global trade continues to be weighed down by geopolitical tensions, supply-chain disruptions, inflationary pressures, and uneven demand recovery across major markets.
In the first quarter (April-June 2025), India's overall exports, merchandise and services combined, reached USD 209.0 billion, surpassing the previous year's Q1 figure of USD 202.5 billion.
The Q1 performance also reflects India's improved export competitiveness, supply-chain modernisation, and greater integration with global value chains.
The momentum strengthened further in the second quarter (July-September 2025), with overall exports rising to USD 209.9 billion, the highest-ever for any Q2 in India's trade history.
This leap from USD 193.2 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous year signals a broad-based export recovery, despite subdued global demand and trade contraction in several competing economies.
India's robust showing in Q2 was driven by rising smartphone shipments, improved agricultural exports supported by stable monsoon conditions, and strong services exports.
Taken together, India's exports in the first half of 2025-26 (April-September 2025) stood at USD 418.9 billion, up from USD 395.7 billion in the same period of 2024, reflecting a growth of 5.86 per cent.
This marks the highest-ever H1 export performance for the country. The data underscores the continued resilience of India's export ecosystem and the benefits of structural reforms undertaken in recent years, including logistics improvements, enhanced port capacity, export facilitation measures, and targeted incentives for high-growth sectors.
India's H1-2025-26 performance stands out amid global headwinds.
Several major economies saw flat or declining exports due to slowing demand, high freight costs, and currency volatility.
India, on the other hand, leveraged its diversified export basket, improved competitiveness under Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, and expanding services exports to push ahead of global trends.
With the momentum of H1-2025-26 and continued policy support for exporters, India is poised for a strong performance in the remainder of 2025-26.
The highest-ever quarterly and half-yearly exports testify not only to India's resilience but also to its growing role as a dependable and competitive partner in global trade.
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