Merchandise exports stay flat in February, Commerce Secretary warns of dip in March

India’s trade balance stood at a deficit of around $4 billion in February 2026, compared with a surplus of $2.7 billion in February last year, due in large part to Indian merchandise exports remaining flat while imports of both merchandise and services grew significantly during the month.

While releasing the data, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India’s exports in March are likely to be impacted by the ongoing conflict in West Asia. 

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According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday, India’s total exports, including merchandise and services, grew 11% to $76.1 billion in February 2026. Total imports, however, grew 21.7% to $80.1 billion.

Within this, merchandise imports widened their gap over exports. Merchandise exports remained largely flat at $36.6 billion in February 2026 compared with $36.9 billion in February last year. Merchandise imports, on the other hand, grew 24.2% to $63.7 billion over this period. 

Mr. Agrawal said that this situation is likely to worsen in March 2026 due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia. 

“Despite all of the challenges, our merchandise exports have been doing well,” Mr. Agrawal said at a press briefing. “The month of March will be a challenging one as well, because of too many logistics challenges, and when one part of the geography gets constrained, then too much of exports will not happen. Exports will likely see a downward trend this month because of the logistical challenges.”

In February 2026, services exports grew nearly 25% to $39.5 billion, while imports grew nearly 13% to $16.4 billion.