Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said India’ goods exports in the first three weeks of April have increased despite the West Asia crisis noting that the recent free trade agreements (FTAs) signed by India and an additional dozen being negotiated would give a big boost to the domestic industry.
The Minister also chaired a high-level review meeting on Wednesday to deliberate on the plan of action for achieving India’s $2 trillion export target by 2030–31 and to review the implementation of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), per an official statement.
“Despite the war in West Asia, there is tremendous enthusiasm among Indian exporters. If we look at the April figures, our exports have increased significantly in the first three weeks of April compared to last April. As new trade agreements are coming into effect, the possibilities are also increasing... Now, with great confidence, India will take its next steps in world trade,” Goyal told reporters at an event on Wednesday.
Slew of FTAs
New Delhi is currently engaged in negotiating FTAs with about a dozen partners, including Peru, Chile, Canada, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil and Russia, even as it has recently concluded or advanced major pacts with the UK, the EU, the UAE, Australia, Oman and New Zealand, Goyal said.
This signals New Delhi’s push to rapidly expand its FTA network to hedge against rising protectionism and geopolitical disruptions by securing preferential access to as many markets as possible.
The ongoing conflict in West Asia, fueled by persistent tensions between the US-Israel, and Iran, dealt a severe blow to Indian exports with outbound shipments falling 7.44 per cent year-on-year this March to $38.92 billion. Goods exports in FY 2025-26 posted a marginal 0.93 per cent increase to $441.78 billion.
Trade data for April 2026 is being compiled and will be shared by the Commerce Department on May 15.
Simultaneous disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, driven by the ongoing conflict, have bottlenecked Indian exports and hampered global shipping logistics
Goyal said Indian consignments are going through different routes because the Strait of Hormuz still remained a challenge.
Focus areas
In the export review meeting, the Minister emphasised that agricultural exports and micro and small enterprises should remain a key focus across all components of the EPM.
“He further directed that market access support should be extended beyond export promotion councils (EPCs) to include other field-level organisations engaged in promoting exports. In addition, he emphasised the need to develop a rolling three-year calendar of trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, reverse buyer-seller meets and trade delegations to provide greater predictability to exporters and EPCs,” the statement added.
Published on April 29, 2026