Five sectors account for 83% of India’s record October merchandise export surge: Report

New Delhi [India], November 14 (ANI): Five major sectors, including engineering, petroleum and electronics, accounted for nearly 83 per cent of the increase in India's merchandise exports in October, as shipments recorded their fastest monthly growth in five years, according to a report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
The report said merchandise exports rose 45.1 per cent year-on-year to a record USD 49.47 billion in October 2026, taking cumulative shipments during April-October to USD 309.06 billion, up 22 per cent from a year earlier.
Exports from the five sectors — engineering goods, petroleum products, electronic goods, gems and jewellery, and organic and inorganic chemicals — increased 59.4 per cent to USD 34.37 billion in October, compared with USD 21.56 billion in the corresponding month last year.
However, GTRI cautioned that the increase in export values may partly reflect higher global commodity and input prices rather than an equivalent rise in shipment volumes. Imports of rough diamonds rose 63.6 per cent, petroleum products 57 per cent and electronic components 50 per cent during the month.
The report described the performance as a combination of "price-driven concentration and a broadening recovery", pointing to both higher export values in import-intensive sectors and a turnaround in labour-intensive categories.
Engineering goods exports rose 36 per cent to USD 12.74 billion, while petroleum shipments surged 140.2 per cent to USD 8.89 billion. Electronic goods exports increased 62.7 per cent to USD 6.64 billion.
A recovery was also visible across six labour-intensive categories, whose combined exports grew 28.3 per cent to USD 9.07 billion in October. Textile and garment exports rose 26.3 per cent to USD 3.37 billion, while meat, dairy and poultry products increased 34.9 per cent to USD 788.26 million.
Separately, India's overall exports, including goods and services, rose nearly 30 per cent to USD 89.99 billion in October, while the total trade deficit narrowed to USD 20.09 billion from USD 25.15 billion a year earlier, according to Commerce Ministry data. (ANI)