NITI Aayog’s fourth edition of Trade Watch Quarterly, provides a detailed review of India’s trade performance for Q4 FY 2024-25 (January–March 2025). Total trade stood at USD 441 billion, marking a 2.2% year-on-year growth. While merchandise exports saw a mild dip due to lower shipments of mineral fuels and organic chemicals, sectors such as electrical machinery, pharmaceuticals, and cereals recorded solid gains.
Regionally, North America posted a 25% jump, becoming India’s largest export destination, while exports to the EU, GCC, and ASEAN moderated. On the import front, the UAE overtook Russia as India’s second-largest supplier, driven by gold inflows under CEPA, even as imports from China surged on demand for electronics.
This edition also focuses on India’s leather and footwear industry, which employs 4.4 million people but holds only a 1.8% share in the USD 296 billion global market. The report stresses that the sector must pivot toward non-leather and sustainable products, backed by MSME strengthening, R&D investment, and integration into green value chains.
The report underscores India’s need to diversify exports, build technology- and design-led competitiveness, and anticipate global demand shifts. For labour-intensive sectors like footwear and apparel, it calls for greener, more value-added production models to sustain employment and export growth.
What is Trade Watch Quarterly? Trade Watch Quarterly is a flagship publication of NITI Aayog that tracks quarterly trends in India’s merchandise and services trade, regional patterns, and sectoral competitiveness, offering data-driven insights for evidence-based trade policy.
Follow the full report here: https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-10/Trade_Watch_Report_Q4_FY25_V4.pdf
