Exports see healthy rise in April so far despite challenges in West Asia: Goyal

The countrys exports have shown a healthy increase during the first three weeks of April so far despite challenges due to the ongoing West Asia crisis, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

The country's exports have shown a healthy increase during the first three weeks of April so far despite challenges due to the ongoing West Asia crisis, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. He added that the consignments to West Asia are going through different routes because the Strait of Hormuz is ''still a challenge''. Goyal also said that free trade agreements finalised by India would give a huge boost to the domestic industry. ''There is an increase in exports during the first three weeks of April as compared to the same period of last April... Despite the war in West Asia, there is tremendous enthusiasm among domestic exporters,'' Goyal told reporters here. The trade data for April will be released by the commerce ministry on May 15. Exports posted the steepest fall in five months, declining by 7.44 per cent in March to USD 38.92 billion due to trade uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, with shipments to West Asia contracting by more than 50 per cent in the month, according to official data released on Wednesday. The ongoing crisis has severely impacted the movement of cargo ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran and Oman/UAE. It is the major route for shipping lines to carry consignments from India to the Middle East region. When asked about the progress in negotiations for a trade pact with the US, the minister said, ''We had very good discussions, I think about a week ago. Our team is back, and we continue to engage.'' An Indian official team returned from Washington this month after holding three-day talks with US authorities on finalising the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. Both sides discussed several areas, such as market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment and digital trade. India and the US issued a joint statement on February 7 finalising a framework for an interim trade agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. The framework requires recalibration in view of changes in the US tariff landscape. Goyal also said that the government has finalised a number of trade pacts with countries, including the UAE, UK, EU, the four European nations' bloc EFTA (European Free Trade Association), Australia, Mauritius, and Oman. ''Another 12 (FTAs) are on the anvil,'' he said. India is negotiating trade agreements with Chile, Peru, Israel, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, South Africa and its neighbouring regions; Brazil and its neighbouring countries; and Russia and the Eurasian region. On the country's foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, the minister said it ''would probably cross about 87-88 billion dollars, maybe 90 billion dollars'' in 2025-26. Total FDI inflows, which include reinvested earnings, stood at USD 73.31 billion during April-December 2025-26. Meanwhile, chairing a high-level review meeting to deliberate on the plan of action for achieving India's USD 2 trillion export target by 2030-31, the minister directed officials that, in consultation with the concerned line ministries, priority sectors should be identified where a clearly defined import substitution strategy can be pursued alongside efforts to boost exports. Goyal stated that achievement of the target will be based on three key pillars. ''These include clearly defined and actionable points with timelines, where each sectoral action is assigned to a Nodal Joint Secretary, classified as supply-side or demand-side, linked to key performance indicators and aligned with short, medium and long-term timelines,'' the commerce ministry said in a statement. The minister emphasised the importance of inter-departmental coordination to ensure effective resolution of exporter-related issues. In addition, Goyal called for an IT-enabled monitoring platform to facilitate regular tracking of progress, with an automated escalation mechanism for review at the levels of secretary and minister. India is targeting USD 2 trillion in total exports by 2030-31 (USD 1 trillion each of merchandise and services). The Department of Commerce has developed a structured Export Monitoring Framework, which breaks down the national target into sector-wise actions across engineering goods, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and services. ''The minister emphasised that all initiatives must translate into tangible support for exporters in areas such as finance, market access, compliance, logistics and brand visibility,'' it said, adding that the USD 2-trillion target is achievable with disciplined execution, real-time monitoring and effective inter-departmental coordination.