India’s merchandise and service exports witnessed a year-on-year growth in April 2024, reaching $34.99 billion and $29.57 billion respectively, according to commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal. The country’s merchandise exports rose by 1% to $34.99 billion in April 2024 compared to $34.62 billion in April 2023, as per provisional data released by the commerce ministry.

The estimated services export in April this year stood at $29.57 billion, 14.7% higher than the $25.78 billion achieved in the same period of the previous fiscal year FY24. However, the services trade data for April 2024 is an estimation, as the final figure will be released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with a lag. Overall exports (merchandise and services) in April 2024 witnessed a 6.88% year-on-year growth, reaching $64.56 billion.

Barthwal highlighted that the revised numbers for overall exports in 2023-24, after factoring in updated services trade data released by RBI for March, stood at $778.2 billion, higher than the $776.68 billion estimated on April 15. He stated, “So now, this is the new highest, so to say, the new benchmark, which we have established.”

Experts believe that the positive beginning in 2024-25, particularly in merchandise export, is likely to be sustained as global demand is expected to improve in line with the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) outlook. According to the WTO’s April 10 forecast, “World merchandise trade volume is expected to grow 2.6% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025 as demand for traded goods rebounds following a contraction in 2023.” However, the WTO cautioned that regional conflicts, geopolitical tensions, and economic policy uncertainty pose substantial downside risks to the forecast.

Read More: Click Here