Moderate Trade Performance in May 2025: Services Exports Shine Amid Global Challenges: S C Ralhan, FIEO, President  

Despite global economic headwinds, India’s overall exports (merchandise and services combined) demonstrated resilience, registering a 2.8% growth in May 2025. Total exports reached USD 71.12 billion, up from USD 69.20 billion in May 2024. This uptick was primarily driven by continued strength in services exports, particularly in software, consultancy, and financial services, said S C Ralhan, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
 
Ralhan highlighted that the latest trade figures reflect the robust performance of India's services sector, which continues to act as a buffer against the challenges of muted global demand, geopolitical tensions, and high interest rates. While merchandise exports dipped slightly to USD 38.73 billion from USD 39.59 billion in May 2024, the overall export growth underscores the resilience and diversification of India’s export base.
 
“Exporters are adapting well to a tough global environment,” said Ralhan. “The ability to sustain export growth despite logistical disruptions, especially in the Middle East, is a testament to the sector’s agility and policy support.”
 
On the import side, merchandise imports declined modestly to USD 60.61 billion in May 2025 from USD 61.68 billion in the previous year, indicating a combination of softening domestic demand and lower global commodity prices. Overall imports (goods + services) also saw a marginal dip to USD 77.75 billion, compared to USD 78.55 billion in May 2024, suggesting stable domestic demand for essential inputs and services.
 
Ralhan pointed out that the decline in merchandise imports could also reflect growing success in import substitution and domestic capacity building, aligned with the government's push for self-reliance.
 
To sustain and accelerate export growth, the FIEO President emphasized the urgent need for: (i) Continued support for MSMEs through the Interest Equalisation Scheme (ii) Expedited Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations to boost market access particularly BTA with US (iii) Simplification and digitization of trade procedures to reduce transaction costs (iv) Making e-commerce exports seamless by addressing various procedural issues.
 
Looking ahead, Ralhan urged the government to maintain a sharp focus on sector-specific issues, and capitalize on India’s growing services strength by investing in digital infrastructure, talent development, and targeted global promotion.
 
“With appropriate policy interventions and global conditions expected to stabilize in the second half of 2025, India is well-positioned to regain a strong export growth trajectory,” Ralhan concluded with optimism.