ASEAN, Africa lead India's export growth

New Delhi, Asean and African regions emerged as the biggest contributors to India's export growth during the first two months of the current fiscal, according to the commerce ministry data.

During April-May 2026-27, exports rose 16.09 per cent year-on-year to USD 88.91 billion.

The data showed that the country's exports to Asean (Association of South East Asian nations) jumped 66.9 per cent to USD 10.5 billion from USD 6.3 billion a year ago, while shipments to Africa surged 53.1 per cent to USD 9.6 billion from USD 6.3 billion.

Together, these two regions have added over USD 7.6 billion in exports compared with the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, accounting for a significant share of India's overall export expansion.

Further, despite modest growth, NAFTA (US, Canada and Mexico) remained India's largest export destination with shipments rising 2.6 per cent to USD 19.3 billion from USD 18.8 billion, while exports to Europe increased 4 per cent to USD 17 billion from USD 16.4 billion.

Exports to North East Asia also recorded robust growth of 30.7 per cent to USD 8.3 billion, while South Asia registered a 40.2 per cent rise to USD 6.1 billion.

Similarly, shipments to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) grew 12.5 per cent to USD 3 billion, Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) recorded a 29 per cent increase to USD 2.1 billion, and exports to the CIS (commonwealth of independent states) countries rose 7.7 per cent to USD 1.1 billion.

CIS nations include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

The data indicated that regions outside north America and Europe now account for more than half of India's exports, underscoring the country's strategy of diversifying export destinations amid global economic uncertainties.

India's total exports of goods and services during April-May FY27 were estimated at USD 162.69 billion, up 14.66 per cent over the year-ago period. ...