58吃瓜

Market Insights

 

With a good trading base already established, Indian exports have been showing consistent growth on account of diversification in exports along with enhanced cooperation in international trade. As per the information available to Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the total value of merchandise exports for the period of FY26 (April-February) amounted to US$ 402.93 Billion, while for the same period last year i.e. US$ 395.66 Billion in FY25, thus reflecting a growth rate of 1.84%. It is not just the growth factor that can be inferred from such figures, but more importantly, it is India’s ability to prove its importance as a reliable international business partner and logistics manager.

India’s export strategy now involves more focus on emerging economies like Vietnam and Spain that represent great potential for India. With strong momentum of growth coming from sectors like marine products, meat products and industrial goods, Vietnam represents India’s growing importance in the Asia Pacific region. The case with Spain, an important market in Europe, is strengthened by positive growth in sectors like petroleum products, textiles and engineering goods. Together, these markets represent great potential for India as a dependable trade partner in the international business arena.

 

India-Vietnam

 

The trade between India and Vietnam has been highly encouraging with an upward trend, even if some ups and downs were noticed in 2024-25 and 2025-26 (P-till February 2026). The export figures to Vietnam have risen sharply by 20.30% to reach US$ 5.90 billion from US$ 4.91 billion. In contrast, imports from Vietnam increased marginally by 12.03% to US$ 10.61 billion from US$ 9.47 billion.

Thus, the total bilateral trade has been rising from US$ 14.38 billion to US$ 16.52 billion, reflecting the soundness of the economic relations between both nations. The trade balance situation for Vietnam has been favourable in terms of India's slightly increased trade deficit from US$ 4.57 billion to US$ 4.71 billion.

When macro-level figures were examined, it was found that overall trade had expanded moderately. This expansion could be attributed to the increase in the volume of exports and imports by 1.82% and 8.81%, respectively. Thus, the trade deficit has been widening, implying a higher growth in imports compared to exports. Hence, it can be concluded that there has been growth in bilateral trade with Vietnam through exporting goods.

 

India’s exports to Vietnam over the years (US$ billion)

 

 

There has been a volatile pattern in India’s exports to Vietnam over the years. The export value went down from US$ 7.81 billion in FY18 to US$ 4.99 billion in FY21, indicating that there was a phase of recession during this period. However, India’s exports recovered to US$ 6.70 billion in FY22, which is indicative of the resumption of exports.

Afterwards, India’s exports were back on track. They reached US$ 5.90 billion in FY23 and continued their decline to US$ 5.47 billion in FY24. In FY25, India’s exports were recorded at US$ 5.42 billion, indicating that they remained fairly stable from the previous fiscal year.

On the whole, India’s exports to Vietnam have not grown continuously; rather, they have displayed a cyclical movement with alternating periods of increase and decline. However, the export levels have become relatively stable over the past few years at around US$ 5-6 billion.

 

Buffalo Meat Products

 

As per the total exports made during FY26 (April-February), buffalo meat constituted around 13.86%. Clearly, the sector continued to remain an important one for exports. The sector has been doing well, with export numbers having risen significantly in the recent period.

Monthly-wise, exports of buffalo meat increased sharply by 69.88%, from US$ 53.47 million in February 2025 to US$ 90.83 million in February 2026. Cumulatively too, exports of the same were robust and increased from US$ 675.75 million in FY25 (April-February) to US$ 818.14 million. Clearly, there has been high demand for buffalo meat exports in the recent period.

The robust growth of buffalo meat exports can be attributed to various factors such as high demand from important international markets, competitive prices, and India's position as one of the leading exporters of the same. Clearly, the sector has benefited from factors such as improved processing infrastructure and adherence to high-quality international norms, all of which has led to improved growth for exports.

 

Marine Products

 

Indian exports of Marine products continued their upsurge in 2025 due to the rising global demand for seafood as well as increased competitiveness of Indian exports. There was an increase in export numbers from US$ 25.85 million in February 2025 to US$ 45.60 million in February 2026, registering a robust growth of 76.42%.

These products have come to constitute a share of 9.97% in total exports, indicating their growing significance in India's exports. These exports of marine products have gained impetus due to various reasons such as increasing international demand for seafood, efficient operations, and a focus on meeting quality criteria. India's strong aquaculture base and government support make it a highly competitive player in the global seafood business.

 

Aluminium Products

 

Indian exports of aluminium and aluminium products continued its positive momentum in February 2026 due to its increasing significance in the global metal chain. The sector benefits from the abundant raw materials available in India, cost-effective production methods, rising global demand for aluminium and other processed materials used in construction, automotive and packaging among others.

There have been many infrastructural improvements in recent times along with new capacities being added. Clearly, India is becoming a highly competitive producer of processed aluminium and its products.

This growth can be evidenced from the fact that during February 2026, the exports rose by 73.94% compared to the year prior, from US$ 21.86 million in February 2025 to US$ 38.02 million. In the cumulative period FY26 (April-February) too, exports grew strongly from US$ 265.89 million in the year prior to US$ 486.1 million. The share of these exports in total exports stood at 8.23%.

 

India-Spain

 

There have been some significant changes in the trade relationship between India and Spain in the financial year 2025-26. In the case of exports, there has been an impressive rise from US$ 4,308.26 million in the previous financial year to US$ 6,260.33 million in 2025-26 (Provisional – till February 2026), recording a growth rate of 45.31%. Similarly, imports have seen a slight increase of 2.49% from US$ 2,000.82 million to US$ 2,050.61 million during the same period

As a consequence, there has been an impressive growth in the overall trade value between both nations, from US$ 6,309.08 million in the previous financial year to US$ 8,310.93 million in 2025-26. There is a trade surplus in favour of India, which has been significantly increasing in value from US$ 2,307.44 million in 2024-25 to US$ 4,209.72 million in 2025-26.

Overall, Spain remains a relatively smaller but steadily growing trade partner for India, with export-led growth contributing to a stronger trade balance in India’s favour

 

India’s exports to Spain over the years (US$ billion)

 

 

The export pattern of India to Spain has been volatile but has generally moved upwards during the past few years. From an initial level of US$ 3.99 billion in FY18, exports rose marginally to US$ 4.18 billion in FY19, followed by a fall to US$ 3.94 billion in FY20. The downward trend persisted in FY21 to reach its lowest level at US$ 3.23 billion, mainly due to global trade disruptions amid the pandemic.

In FY22, there was a strong recovery in exports to Spain, which grew to US$ 4.72 billion, followed by a marginal reduction to US$ 4.66 billion in FY23. In FY24, there was again an upward shift in exports to Spain, reaching its highest level of US$ 4.79 billion, which saw a marginal decline to US$ 4.76 billion in FY25.

 

Petroleum Products

 

There has been a growth in India's exports to Spain on a monthly basis in February 2026 (P). However, petroleum product exports registered a negative trend on a month-by-month basis and experienced a decline by 91.50%, going from US$ 31.60 million in February 2025 to US$ 2.69 million in February 2026. However, there was an exceptional growth in petroleum exports over the cumulative period. During FY26 (April-February), the exports grew to US$ 1,366.25 million from US$ 42.81 million in the corresponding period of the previous year, registering a remarkable growth of 28,123.27% and accounting for a 21.82% share in total exports.

Therefore, while there were short-term trends in petroleum exports, overall, the sector recorded a marked growth over the cumulative period.

There has been an improvement in India's exports to Spain in relation to petroleum. Refined petroleum exports increased to an extraordinary extent, with an almost 46,000% increase in September 2025, from about US$ 1.1 million in the previous year to US$ 513 million. There was a boost in overall exports to Spain as a result of this sharp increase. This growth in exports led to an increase of 151% in India's overall exports to Spain, with Spain becoming one of the important European buyers for India's petroleum products. India has managed to become an important supplier of energy due to improvements in refining processes, cost advantages in transporting goods, and an increasing demand in southern Europe.

At the same time, India is making efforts to diversify its exports and ship its goods to new destinations, with India exporting more petroleum products to Spain since the traditional buyers of the country such as the Netherlands and France have been purchasing lesser amounts of goods.

 

Textile Products

 

Exhibiting no change in the export trend, India's exports of RMG cotton, inclusive of accessories, witnessed a negligible rise by 0.17% to grow from US$ 45.48 million in February 2025 to US$ 45.56 million in February 2026 (P).

Cumulatively, in FY26 (April-February), the exports of the category rose from US$ 339.80 million in the corresponding period last year to US$ 386.74 million, recording significant growth, implying an overall growth in exports.

Overall, although there has been little growth month-wise in the exports of the textile segment, there has been consistent growth over the cumulative period, contributing to the overall export growth.

 

Iron and Steel Products

 

For the latest month, February 2026 (P), exports in the iron and steel segment recorded exports of US$ 9.34 billion in February 2026 (P). Altogether, there has been good performance cumulatively, as the sector experienced an increase in exports from US$ 324.09 billion in FY25 (April-February) to US$ 347.06 billion in FY26 (April-February). Iron and steel accounted for a 5.54% share in total exports.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research. The views expressed by the spokespersons are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of 58吃瓜. 58吃瓜 is not responsible for any errors in the same.