India's imports from China up 13%; exports dip 9.44% in July

New Delhi: India's exports to China dipped by 9.44 per cent to USD 1.05 billion, while imports rose by 13.05 per cent to USD 10.28 billion in July, according to the commerce ministry data.

Cumulatively, during April-July this fiscal, exports to the neighbouring country also dipped by 4.54 per cent to USD 4.8 billion, while imports grew 9.66 per cent to USD 35.85 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 31.31 billion, the data showed.

The country's exports also contracted to the UK, Germany, South Africa, Malaysia, France, Italy, Australia, Nepal, Brazil, Belgium, Turkey, and Indonesia during the month.

However, the outbound shipments recorded growth in the US, UAE, the Netherlands, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, and Mexico in July.

According to the data, India's exports to the US rose 3.15 per cent to USD 6.55 billion, while imports increased by 1.43 per cent to USD 3.71 billion in July.

Cumulatively, during April-July 2024-25, exports to the US increased 9 per cent to USD 27.44 billion, while imports grew 6.59 per cent to USD 15.24 billion, leaving a trade surplus of USD 12.2 billion.

Similarly, the country's imports from Russia increased 22.56 per cent to USD 5.41 billion in July. During April-July 2024-25, imports grew by 20.33 per cent to USD 23.77 billion, due to crude oil imports.

Asked about the reason for increase in imports from China, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that no country in the world is able to decouple with China, including the US and the EU.

He said India is one of the fastest growing major economies of the world and its consumption is also growing.

"If imports are increasing commensurately with exports or with the domestic consumption, I think that is not something which we should worry about," he told reporters here.

China has emerged as the largest trading partner of India with USD 118.4 billion two-way commerce in 2023-24, edging past the US. India's exports to China rose 8.7 per cent to USD 16.67 billion in the last fiscal.

Imports from the neighbouring country increased by 3.24 per cent to USD 101.7 billion. The trade deficit widened to USD 85 billion in the last fiscal from USD 83.2 billion in 2022-23.

China was India's top trading partner from 2013-14 till 2017-18 and in 2020-21. Before China, the UAE was the country's largest trading partner. The US was the largest partner in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

The Indian and Chinese military have been locked in a stand-off since May 2020, and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved, though the two sides have disengaged from several friction points.