India’s merchandise trade deficit with China and Russia reached $113.83 billion in the first half of FY27, accounting for nearly 64% of the country’s total deficit of $177.64 billion. The imbalance widened despite strong export growth during April-September.

India’s overall merchandise trade deficit rose 13.2% year-on-year. Exports increased 18.5% to $259.89 billion, while imports grew 16.3% to $437.53 billion.

The deficit with China stood at $68.94 billion, while the gap with Russia widened to $44.89 billion. In September, India’s trade deficit was $30.21 billion, lower than $33 billion a year earlier. However, it increased from $26.86 billion in August. Imports rose from $70.67 billion to $74.61 billion, while exports edged up from $43.81 billion to $44.40 billion.

China remained India’s largest source of merchandise imports during the first half of FY27, accounting for 18.4% of total imports. Shipments from China rose to $80.35 billion from $62.86 billion in the same period last year, an increase of $17.49 billion.

Indian exports to China grew 36.1% to $11.41 billion. However, the rise failed to offset the higher import bill. Consequently, the bilateral trade deficit widened to $68.94 billion from approximately $54.47 billion, an increase of $14.47 billion.

In September, imports from China reached $14.86 billion, up 31.5% year-on-year and around 16.3% from August. Commodity-level data explaining the increase has not yet been released.

India’s imports from Russia climbed 52% to $47.29 billion from $31.11 billion a year earlier. Exports to Russia increased from approximately $2.23 billion to $2.39 billion. This pushed the bilateral trade deficit to $44.89 billion, around $16 billion higher than the previous year’s $28.88 billion.

In September, imports from Russia stood at $9 billion, up around 26% year-on-year but down nearly 16% from August. Russia ranked as India’s second-largest import source after China.

India recorded a $14.63-billion trade deficit with the UAE, importing $31.34 billion worth of goods and exporting $16.70 billion. The gap narrowed from approximately $17.03 billion a year earlier as imports fell 5.1% and exports declined 10.9%.

The deficit with South Korea reached $10.85 billion, with imports rising 35.4% to $14.76 billion against exports of $3.91 billion. India’s trade gap with Saudi Arabia stood at approximately $9.53 billion, with imports of $14.25 billion exceeding exports of $4.72 billion.

The United States remained India’s largest export market, with shipments rising 11.1% to $50.81 billion during April-September. The US accounted for 19.6% of India’s merchandise exports. Imports from the country totalled $32.33 billion, leaving India with a trade surplus of approximately $18.48 billion.

September exports to the US rose 48% year-on-year to $8.03 billion, although they fell 3.5% from August. Exports to Singapore, Malaysia, Tanzania and China also recorded strong growth, alongside shipments to South Africa. India continued to run trade deficits with Singapore and Malaysia, while the Netherlands, Bangladesh, the UK, Nepal and Spain contributed trade surpluses.