India Achieves Record-Breaking Export Performance in First Half of FY 2025-26 Despite Global Market Challenges

India's export sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience and global competitiveness in FY 2025-26, achieving record-breaking performance despite ongoing global market uncertainties. The country registered its highest-ever quarterly exports in both the first and second quarters of the financial year, as Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

According to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada, in a written response to the Lok Sabha, India's overall exports for the first half of FY 2025-26 (April to September 2025) reached $418.6 billion, up from $395.7 billion during the same period in the previous year. This represents a significant growth of 5.8 percent, establishing the strongest half-year export performance in India's history.

The ministry highlighted that India's export momentum continues to remain stable, despite experiencing a slight decline in October 2025. This temporary dip was attributed to the exceptionally high base effect from October 2024, which had been the strongest October for exports on record.

Minister Prasada emphasized that India's export strategy is founded on credibility, resilience, and proactive global engagement. He noted that high-level diplomatic visits and negotiations with partner countries continue to strengthen economic relationships and deliver long-term benefits, even amid short-term market fluctuations.

"India's export ecosystem has benefitted from structural reforms, improvement in logistics, expansion of port capacity, and targeted export facilitation measures," Prasada stated. "Production-Linked Incentive schemes have helped boost manufacturing competitiveness, while services exports remain a strong pillar of the external sector."

Regarding trade agreements, the Government informed Parliament that five major Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have been established over the past five years. These include agreements with Mauritius, the UAE, Australia, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and the India-UK trade pact, which will be implemented following ratification.

The Ministry further explained that such agreements involve ongoing negotiations and reciprocal diplomatic visits, which foster trust and deepen economic cooperation between India and its trading partners.