New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) The country's exports rose marginally by 0.61 per cent to USD 36.56 billion in January, while trade deficit widened to a three-month high of USD 34.68 billion, government data showed on Monday.

Imports rose 19.2 per cent - the highest so far this fiscal - to a three-month high of USD 71.24 billion in January, driven by a sharp rise in inbound shipments of gold and silver due to higher prices.

Gold imports surged 349.22 per cent to USD 12 billion during the month under review, while silver imports jumped by 127 per cent to USD 2 billion.

India mainly imports the yellow metal from Switzerland, from where the inbound shipments have climbed 836.85 per cent to USD 3.95 billion in January.

Oil imports, however, dipped 0.24 per cent to USD 13.4 billion in January.

Cumulatively during April-January 2025-26 fiscal, the country's exports rose by 2.22 per cent to USD 366.63 billion.

Imports grew 7.21 per cent to USD 649.86 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 283.23 billion during the nine-month period of 2025-26. The gap was USD 247.38 billion in April-January 2024-25.

Briefing media on the data, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the country's exports "remain northwards" both in goods and services.

He expressed hope that, going by the trend, exports of goods and services are likely to cross USD 860 billion in 2025-26. It was USD 825 billion in 2024-25.

"In services, we will be crossing beyond USD 410 billion for the first time in this current year," Agrawal said.

During April-January this fiscal, the total exports are estimated at USD 720.76 billion as against USD 679.02 billion recorded in the same period of the previous fiscal.

The global trade has been disrupted due to tariffs imposed by the US. On India, the Trump administration has levied a steep 50 per cent tariffs from August. This is impacting the country's outbound shipments from the labour-intensive sectors, such as apparel.

The US has removed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods from February 7. It will cut the remaining 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs to 18 per cent once a trade agreement is finalised between the two countries.

At the exports front, key sectors such as petroleum, engineering, electronics, iron ore, marine and coffee have recorded positive growth in January.

However, shipments of tea, rice, spices, leather and leather products, gems and jewellery, chemicals, ready-made garments of all textiles, and plastics have recorded negative growth.

As per the commerce ministry data, services exports for January this year are estimated at USD 43.90 billion as compared to USD 34.75 billion in January 2025.

The estimated value of services imports for January 2026 is USD 19.60 billion as compared to USD 16.71 billion in the same month last year.

Commenting on the data, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel said he met RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra and requested for a separate export policy for the MSMEs sector.

He proposed that a dedicated Special Interest Package Scheme be introduced for MSMEs, as currently, banks determine lending rates based on their internal policies and balance sheet considerations, leading to inconsistencies and higher borrowing costs.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S C Ralhan expressed confidence that with sustained policy support, improved market access under the new FTAs and continued industry resilience, India is well-positioned to maintain its export growth momentum and further strengthen its role as a reliable and competitive partner in global trade. PTI RR CS HVA

Tariffs on Indian goods and ongoing trade agreement adjustments affect export competitiveness and sectoral trade flows. India's merchandise exports rose slightly while the trade deficit widened as imports-notably gold and silver-surged; sectoral exports were mixed and services exports increased. The piece stresses the disruptive impact of steep tariffs on labour intensive outbound shipments and notes partial tariff removals with further reductions conditioned on a trade agreement. Industry called for a dedicated MSME export policy and a Special Interest Package Scheme to address borrowing cost inconsistencies and support exporters.