India’s trading relationships are the product of a 45‑year export boom. Manufactured goods now sit at the centre, but the import bill is larger, driven by energy and capital goods. Each chart on this page answers a layer of the same question: who is India trading with?
What does India sell abroad, and how has the export basket changed over 45 years?
The top‑left chart traces four product groups from 1980 to 2024. Manufactures took off from $5.04 billion to $291.02 billion, making it the dominant category. Fuels and mining exports, almost non‑existent in 1980 at $0.68 billion, shot to $90.28 billion, reflecting India’s emergence as a refining hub. Chemicals exports rose from $0.36 billion to $66.08 billion, and agricultural exports grew from $2.84 billion to $52.26 billion. The basket has shifted: raw farm goods are no longer the headline.
Today, a car part, a smartphone, or a litre of petrol is more likely to leave India’s ports than a sack of rice. This matters because who buys these things, and what they pay, sets the stage for everything that follows.
Chart
What India sells abroad, by product
Manufactures dominate at $291 billion, but refined fuels have become the new giant at $90 billion.
WTO · merchandise exports by product group · current US$
The four lines show 45 years of merchandise exports by product group. Manufactures grew from $5.04 billion in 1980 to $291.02 billion in 2024, the backbone of India’s export engine. Fuels and mining, almost invisible in 1980 at $0.68 billion, surged after the late 1990s to $90.28 billion, largely because India built world‑class refineries that turn imported crude into exported petrol and diesel. Chemicals rose from $0.36 billion to $66.08 billion, reflecting a strong pharmaceutical and organic‑chemical industry. Agriculture went from $2.84 billion to $52.26 billion. The chart shows that India no longer just ships farm commodities; it’s a factory economy with a big energy‑processing wedge.
Why this chart It sets the stage for every partner and product chart that follows.
How to read it Watch the four lines: the top one (manufactures) and the fast‑rising second one (fuels & mining).
Watch out Don’t confuse the value of exports (high‑dollar manufactures) with physical volume; a barrel of crude can be heavy but cheap per dollar compared to a semiconductor.
Who are India’s top export destinations?
The next chart ranks every country by how much Indian merchandise they bought in 2024. While the full list stretches past 200 nations, the largest markets cluster in North America, West Asia, and Asia. One visible pattern is that many of these top partners are also places where Indian refined petroleum, engineering goods, and textiles end up. The short version: India sells to a wide world, but the heavy hitters are important, they keep factory floors busy and ports humming.
Chart
Where India's exports go
India sells to a broad set of countries, with large markets in the US, UAE, and Asia.
UN Comtrade · India imports
US$ billions
About this chart
The bar chart ranks India’s merchandise export partners for 2024. The tallest bars represent countries that together absorb a significant share of India’s factory output and refined fuels. Many of these nations are regional giants or neighbours. The spread across continents, Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, underlines that India is not reliant on a single geography. However, the visual also hints that the top few nations carry disproportionate weight, a theme the concentration chart later quantifies.
Why this chart It answers the ‘who buys’ question directly and prepares the reader for the regional breakout.
How to read it Read from left to right; the longest bars are the biggest customers.
Watch out Don’t assume the rank is fixed every year, bar charts show one year, but partnerships shift.
Where do India’s imports come from?
The import partner chart flips the lens. The list is different: East and Southeast Asian countries dominate, and the Middle East is large because of crude oil. China usually sits at the top. This chart exposes why India runs a trade deficitTrade deficitWhen a country buys more goods from abroad than it sells, the difference is a trade deficit. It's like a household spending more than it earns; the extra money has to come from somewhere, maybe savings, borrowing, or selling assets. A deficit isn't automatically bad, but a large and persistent one with a single partner can be a vulnerability.India's trade deficit with China is its largest. Understanding why it exists, and why it has grown, is a major focus of this page.: the geography of our supply is much more concentrated than the geography of our sales. The things India needs, fuel, electronics, machinery, come from a smaller set of countries, often at prices set by global markets.
Chart
Where India's imports come from
Suppliers are geographically concentrated, with China and oil‑rich nations at the top.
UN Comtrade · India imports
US$ billions
About this chart
Mirroring the export chart, this bar chart ranks import sources for 2024. The top entries are concentrated in East and Southeast Asia and the Middle East. China’s position is typically the highest, reflecting India’s insatiable need for electronics, machinery, and chemicals. The Middle Eastern bars represent crude oil and gas. This concentration explains why the import bill is so sensitive to global commodity prices and geopolitical events. Unlike the export side, where destinations are more spread out, import sources are heavily weighted toward a few regions.
Why this chart It shows the supply‑side asymmetry that drives the trade deficit.
How to read it Look for the longest bars and note how many of them sit in Asia.
Watch out CIF values include freight and insurance, making import numbers slightly larger than FOB export numbers, don’t compare them directly without adjusting for that.
What are the biggest items India exports?
This bar chart breaks merchandise exports into HS product chapters for 2024. Electrical machinery and equipment topped the list; the chapter covering phones, transformers, and circuits alone accounted for billions. Next came petroleum products, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, and articles of apparel and clothing. The mix confirms the transformation: India is shipping high‑value factory output, not just traditional crafts. For the average reader, this means that when you hear "Indian exports," you should picture a mobile phone component or a pill vial as much as a cotton shirt.
Chart
India's biggest export products
Electrical machinery and equipment lead, followed by refined petroleum and vehicles.
UN Comtrade · HS chapters
US$ billions
About this chart
This bar chart lists the top HS‑2‑chapter exports of 2024. Chapter 85 (electrical machinery) topped the list; it includes smartphone components, transformers, and connectors. Next come petroleum oils (Chapter 27), vehicles, pharmaceutical products, and apparel. Even smaller chapters add up to a picture of a diversified, high‑value export basket. The chart reinforces the earlier product‑group story: India ships a lot of tech and engineering goods, not just agricultural commodities. For anyone trying to understand what ‘Made in India’ really means in export markets, this is the picture.
Why this chart It gives concrete examples of the product groups shown in the earlier broad‑category chart.
How to read it Each bar is a product chapter; the longer the bar, the bigger the export value.
Watch out Some chapters are broad (electrical machinery) and some narrow (clocks). Comparison across chapters needs caution; it’s better to focus on relative size within the same chart.
What does India import the most?
On the import side, the bar chart tells a raw‑material story. Crude petroleum and natural gas sit at the top, followed by electronic integrated circuits, gold, and machinery. Fertilizers also feature heavily, $7.7 billion in 2024.
These are the must‑haves that power farms, factories, and households. Because India cannot yet produce enough of these at home, the import bill stays high. That is the genesis of the deficit.
Chart
India's biggest import products
Energy and electronic components dominate India’s import bill.
UN Comtrade · HS chapters
US$ billions
About this chart
The import‑product bars highlight what India must buy from abroad. Crude petroleum and natural gas are consistently the largest chapter, followed by electronic integrated circuits, gold, and machinery. Fertilizers, at $7.7 billion, are another essential import that keeps farms productive. These are not discretionary purchases, they power the grid, build industry, and feed the population. The chart makes the deficit tangible: when you see how much more the oil bar stretches compared to any single export product, the puzzle of the trade gap starts to make sense.
Why this chart It grounds the import‑category lines in real‑world items, revealing the structural reasons for the deficit.
How to read it Look for the energy‑related bars near the top; they eat up a huge portion of the total.
Watch out The CIF valuation makes imports appear larger than they would be under FOB, roughly 5‑10% bigger due to freight and insurance.
How is India’s trade doing right now?
The monthly line chart tracks merchandise exports and imports from May 2020 to April 2026. The latest month recorded $43.56 billion in exports and $71.94 billion in imports, leaving a gap of about $28 billion. The Covid dip, the post‑2021 bounce, and a more recent plateau are all visible. This high‑frequency view confirms that, while exports have grown, imports have expanded faster, keeping the monthly deficit wide.
Chart
The latest monthly trade
In April 2026, exports were $43.56 billion against imports of $71.94 billion, a $28 billion monthly deficit.
WTO · monthly merchandise trade · current US$
US$ billions
ExportsImports
About this chart
This line chart tracks monthly merchandise exports and imports from May 2020 to April 2026. Both lines plummeted during the Covid lockdowns of 2020, then recovered sharply. Since 2022, exports have hovered around $40‑45 billion a month, while imports have stayed above $60 billion, often touching $70 billion. The gap is persistent. The latest reading shows a deficit of about $28 billion, which, if annualised, would approach $300‑350 billion. This high‑frequency view is a reality check: even as annual export totals rise, the monthly trade bill remains in the red.
Why this chart It gives the most up‑to‑date snapshot and shows the deficit is not just an annual artefact.
How to read it The two lines move together; the space between them is the trade gap, watch it over the past year.
Watch out Monthly data is often revised; small monthly dips or spikes may be smoothed out later.
What does India buy from abroad, and why?
Returning to annual data, the product‑group import chart shows the structure behind the deficit. Fuels and mining imports reached $265.52 billion in 2024; manufactures, at $327.33 billion, included $163.86 billion in machinery and transport equipment. Agriculture imports stood at $45.66 billion. The picture is straightforward: India buys energy and heavy machinery.
These are not luxuries, they are inputs that run the economy. The deficit is, in this sense, a side effect of development.
Chart
What India buys abroad, by product
Fuels and mining dominate at $265.52 billion, closely followed by manufactures at $327.33 billion.
WTO · merchandise imports by product group · current US$
This annual multi‑line chart mirrors the export‑basket chart, but for imports. Fuels and mining imports grew from $6.98 billion in 1980 to $265.52 billion in 2024, mainly because of crude oil. Manufactures imports, $5.35 billion in 1980, reached $327.33 billion, with machinery and transport alone accounting for $163.86 billion. Agricultural imports rose from $1.48 billion to $45.66 billion. The lines show that energy is the single biggest import category in dollar terms, but the broader manufactured‑goods category, dominated by capital equipment, is also huge. Together they explain why the import bill is so large and why reducing the deficit is hard: these are the inputs the economy runs on.
Why this chart It complements the export basket and answers ‘why the deficit?’ directly.
How to read it The top two lines (manufactures and fuels) run close; their sum dwarfs agriculture.
Watch out Fuels & mining includes both crude petroleum and coal, so it’s not just oil.
Why is India’s trade with China so lopsided?
The China‑specific chart puts two lines side by side. Imports from China rose from $1.48 billion in 2000 to $126.96 billion in 2024. Exports to China, however, grew only from $0.73 billion to $14.9 billion. The result is a deficit of over $110 billion, far larger than with any other partner. China ships electronics, machinery, and chemicals that Indian factories and power grids depend on.
Indian sales to China, mostly iron ore and some chemicals, are a fraction. This imbalance is not a one‑year story; the gap has been widening for two decades, and it is the single biggest trade challenge visible in the data.
Chart
India's lopsided trade with China
Imports from China hit $126.96 billion, while exports were just $14.9 billion in 2024.
UN Comtrade · India–China merchandise trade
US$ billions
Imports from ChinaExports to China
About this chart
Two lines from 2000 to 2024 tell a stark story. Imports from China started at $1.48 billion and climbed steadily to $126.96 billion, particularly accelerating after 2010. Exports rose from $0.73 billion to $14.9 billion, a much flatter trajectory. The gap between the lines is India’s largest bilateral deficit. China supplies electronics, machinery, and chemicals that feed Indian manufacturing. Indian exports to China are primarily raw materials like iron ore. The chart shows that this imbalance is not a recent blip, it has been widening structurally for two decades, making China India’s most important, and most imbalanced, trading partner.
Why this chart No single bilateral relationship shapes India’s trade deficit more than China’s.
How to read it Note the soaring import line and the almost flat export line; the space between them is the deficit.
Watch out Don’t interpret the gap as only a problem; some of those imports are capital goods that raise India’s productivity.
How did Russia suddenly become a huge supplier?
The Russia chart captures a geopolitical shock. Before 2022, imports from Russia were modest, a few billion dollars a year. By 2024, they jumped to $67.15 billion, almost entirely from crude oil bought at discount during the Ukraine‑sanctions period. Exports to Russia, at $4.84 billion, remain small. The lines show how fast a trade map can redrawn when events shift. Russia now sits among India’s top suppliers, a position it reached in less than two years.
Chart
The Russia trade surge
Imports from Russia jumped from negligible levels to $67.15 billion in 2024, almost entirely crude oil.
UN Comtrade · India–Russia merchandise trade
US$ billions
Imports from RussiaExports to Russia
About this chart
The Russia chart shows imports and exports from 2000 to 2024. Before 2022, imports were typically below $10 billion. After the Ukraine‑related sanctions, India began buying heavily discounted Russian crude, and the import line shot up to $67.15 billion. Exports remained tiny at $4.84 billion. This one event transformed Russia from a minor trade partner into a top‑two or top‑three supplier, completely on the back of energy deals. The chart illustrates how quickly geopolitics can reshape trade maps, turning a relatively dormant partnership into a major supply route within two years.
Why this chart It’s the clearest example of how external shocks can suddenly redraw trade maps.
How to read it The import line takes a sharp right turn around 2022; the export line barely moves.
Watch out This surge is priced in current US$, so part of the spike could reflect higher oil prices, not just volume.
Which regions get most of India’s exports?
The multi‑line regional export chart spans 2000‑2024. Europe & CIS and North America are neck‑and‑neck at $90.35 billion and $89.15 billion respectively. East & Southeast Asia receives $77.2 billion, the Middle East $72.25 billion, Africa $36.44 billion, and South Asia $26.5 billion. The spread is reasonably even across three continents. This geographic balance means that a slowdown in one region does not typically derail total exports, a feature that Indian policymakers often highlight.
Chart
Where India's exports go, by region
Europe & CIS and North America are neck‑and‑neck at $90 billion each, while exports spread across other regions too.
UN Comtrade · merchandise exports by region · benchmark years
US$ billions
Europe & CIS$90.4North America$89.2East & SE Asia, Middle East, Africa, South Asia
About this chart
Six lines span 2000‑2024 for exports to six regions. Europe & CIS ($90.35 billion) and North America ($89.15 billion) are virtually tied for the top spot. East & Southeast Asia takes $77.2 billion, the Middle East $72.25 billion, Africa $36.44 billion, and South Asia $26.5 billion. The lines have risen together, maintaining a relatively balanced distribution. This geographical spread is a structural advantage: if one region’s economy slows, India still has other major markets. The chart reinforces the narrative that India’s exports are not concentrated in one continent, a theme the final chart on partner‑concentration also confirms.
Why this chart It provides the bigger geographic picture and sets up the import‑concentration contrast.
How to read it Look for the two top lines that track closely; note that no single region pulls far ahead.
Watch out Regional totals mask large differences within regions; for example, the US dominates North America.
Which regions does India rely on for imports?
Imports by region, however, are heavily skewed. East & Southeast Asia tops the chart at $252.92 billion, driven by China. The Middle East follows at $149.08 billion, Europe & CIS at $140.36 billion, and North America far behind at $49.31 billion. The concentration in Asia is stark. Two regions account for more than half of all imports. This asymmetry is the source of the deficit and a reminder that India’s energy and electronics supply chains are not yet diversified.
Chart
Where India's imports come from, by region
East & Southeast Asia alone accounts for $252.92 billion, far ahead of the Middle East ($149.08 billion) and Europe ($140.36 billion).
UN Comtrade · merchandise imports by region · benchmark years
US$ billions
Middle EastEurope & CISEast & SE Asia, North America
About this chart
This regional import chart uses four lines (East & SE Asia, Middle East, Europe & CIS, North America) from 2000 to 2024. The East & SE Asia line soars to $252.92 billion, driven by China, Japan, and ASEAN electronics and machinery. The Middle East line, at $149.08 billion, reflects crude oil; Europe & CIS at $140.36 billion brings in machinery and transport equipment. North America is a distant fourth at $49.31 billion. The concentration in Asia is striking: two regions supply nearly 60% of all imports. This asymmetry is the core reason for the persistent trade deficit, India’s import sources are far less diversified than its export markets.
Why this chart It completes the regional story and highlights imbalance.
How to read it Focus on the gap between the top line (East & SE Asia) and the others; it’s enormous.
Watch out These are nominal dollars; the chart does not adjust for price changes in oil or electronics.
Is India too dependent on a few customers?
The final chart answers the concentration question. The share of exports going to the top‑five partners fell from 43.7% in 2000 to 39.4% in 2024. The decline, while gradual, signals that India is finding buyers beyond the old established markets.
This is a positive drift. A more diversified customer base cushions against shocks, such as a trade spat with any single country. Put together, the charts show a trading nation that is growing, still importing more than it exports, but slowly spreading its risk.
Chart
Is India's customer base concentrated?
The top‑five share fell from 43.7% to 39.4%, exports are becoming more diversified.
UN Comtrade
% of exports
About this chart
A single line tracks the percentage of total merchandise exports going to India’s five largest partners from 2000 to 2024. The line starts at 43.7% and gradually declines to 39.4%. This means India is selling a larger fraction of its goods to countries outside the top five. The trend is modest but steady, suggesting that India’s export relationships are broadening. While the top partners still account for a significant chunk, the direction is towards less reliance on a narrow set of buyers. This is a positive sign for stability: when one big customer hits a snag, a more diversified portfolio helps cushion the blow.
Why this chart It’s the check on concentration risk, critical for trade resilience.
How to read it Watch the line slope downward; even a small decline over 24 years is meaningful.
Watch out The decline could reflect slower growth in some top partners, not just faster growth in smaller ones, it’s a relative measure.
Tell me what this means, bro
So who exactly is buying our stuff and who are we buying from, macha?
Think of India’s trade like a busy port: containers going out are mostly factory machines, mobile phones, medicines, and petrol, heading to America, Europe, and the Gulf. Coming in are oil tankers, electronic parts, and machinery from China and the Middle East. We sell a lot, our manufacturing exports are at $291 billion, but we buy even more, especially the things our factories and cars can’t run without. That’s why every month the import bill is larger, and why China, despite being a big supplier, buys very little from us. The good news is our customer list is getting longer; fewer eggs in fewer baskets.
India is a big exporter, but still a bigger importer, and our biggest trade headache is the one‑sided relationship with China.॥
Plain English concepts
Merchandise trade
Imagine all the physical goods, cars, phones, oil, wheat, that cross a country's border. Merchandise trade counts just those tangible items, leaving out services like IT work or tourism. It's what ships and trucks carry. When you see export and import numbers on this page, they refer only to goods, not intangibles.
This page focuses on India's goods trade because that's where the biggest imbalances, like the oil and electronics deficits, show up clearly.
HS chapter
HS stands for Harmonised System. It's a universal code system that classifies every physical product, from 'live animals' to 'electrical machinery'. Each chapter groups similar things. For example, Chapter 85 covers everything from smartphone parts to power generators. This lets us compare what India exports and imports in fine detail.
The bars showing 'biggest export products' and 'biggest import products' use HS chapters, so you know exactly whether the bar is mobile phones or crude oil.
Current US$
Think of it as dollars in the year the trade happened, without adjusting for inflation. If a barrel of oil cost $80 in 2024 and India bought 1 billion barrels, the import value is $80 billion. 'Current US$' does not tell you if the price changed or if the quantity changed; it's just the final dollar bill paid.
All trade values on the page are in current US$ so that we can compare them with other global figures, but remember that a spike in a line may be due to higher prices, not more units.
FOB and CIF value
FOB (Free On Board) is the value of goods at the exporter's port, before shipping and insurance. CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) includes transport and insurance to the importer's port. Think of FOB as the price tag when the container leaves, CIF as the price when it arrives. Exports are reported FOB, imports CIF, so the trade gap can look slightly different depending on who reports.
India's exports are shown at FOB value, imports at CIF, which inflates the import numbers a little. The deficit is real, but not quite as wide as it appears if you subtract freight costs.
Trade deficit
When a country buys more goods from abroad than it sells, the difference is a trade deficit. It's like a household spending more than it earns; the extra money has to come from somewhere, maybe savings, borrowing, or selling assets. A deficit isn't automatically bad, but a large and persistent one with a single partner can be a vulnerability.
India's trade deficit with China is its largest. Understanding why it exists, and why it has grown, is a major focus of this page.
The data behind this article
Built from 29 data series across 2 sources, with data through 2026.
All values are in current US$, not adjusted for inflation or exchange‑rate changes.
Imports are reported on a CIF basis (cost, insurance, freight) and exports on a FOB basis (free on board), so the trade gap is slightly inflated by freight and insurance costs.
Monthly data are provisional and subject to revision.
Partner‑country breakdowns depend on reporting country accuracy; some re‑exports may be counted differently.
Product‑chapter shares can be influenced by commodity price volatility, especially for oil.
Bhuvanesh. “Who does India trade with?” This Indian Life, October 2026. https://thisindianlife.today/articles/who-does-india-trade-with/
BibTeX
@misc{tilife-whodoesindiatradewith,
author = {Bhuvanesh},
title = {Who does India trade with?},
year = {2026},
publisher = {This Indian Life},
url = {https://thisindianlife.today/articles/who-does-india-trade-with/}
}
APA
Bhuvanesh. (2026). Who does India trade with? This Indian Life. https://thisindianlife.today/articles/who-does-india-trade-with/