Commerce minister Goyal to meet exporters,  industry associations on April 27

NEW DELHI, Apr 26:  Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold a meeting with representatives of export promotion councils (EPCs) and industry associations on April 27 here to discuss ways to boost the country’s outbound shipments, an official said.

The meeting will be held after India and New Zealand sign the free trade pact here at Bharat Mandapam. Todd McClay, New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Investment, is already here with a business delegation.

The minister is holding talks with Indian and New Zealand business leaders at Agra on Sunday. Sector representatives who will be present in the meeting include leather, pharma, auro, sports goods and engineering, the official said.

The meeting on Monday is also important as Indian exporters are reeling under the impact of West Asia crisis, triggered by the US-Israel conflict with Iran. Shipping companies are reluctant to carry goods in the Middle East countries, a key export destination for Indian businesses.

Merchandise exports posted the steepest fall in five months, declining 7.44 per cent in March to USD 38.92 billion due to trade uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, with shipments to West Asia contracting by more than 50 per cent during the month.

The trade deficit, however, narrowed to a nine-month low of USD 20.67 billion in March on account of lower imports.

Imports dipped 6.51 per cent to USD 59.59 billion in March, driven by a significant decline in inbound shipments of crude oil and gold, the data showed. India’s exports to the Middle East fell 57.95 per cent in March, while imports from the Gulf nations contracted 51.64 per cent.

For the full 2025-26 fiscal year, exports grew 0.93 per cent to an all-time high of USD 441.78 billion, while imports rose 7.45 per cent to USD 775 billion. The trade deficit ballooned to USD 333.2 billion due to a jump in gold and silver imports during the last fiscal year.

The country’s goods and services exports increased by an estimated 4.22 per cent to an all-time high of USD 860.09 billion in 2025-26 against USD 825.26 billion in 2024-25. (PTI)