Agri, Pharma, Electronics, Engg Account 50% Of India's Exports

New Delhi: Agriculture, pharma, electronics, and engineering goods together accounted for over 50 per cent of India's merchandise exports in 2024-25, according to government data, highlighting the country's growing strength in diverse sectors amid efforts to boost manufacturing and value-added exports.

Engineering goods contributed the highest share of 26.67 per cent to India's $437.42 billion exports in 2024-25, while agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and electronics accounted for 11.85 per cent, 6.96 per cent, and 8.82 per cent, respectively. The data showed that the electronic goods sector saw the highest export growth rate at 32.46 per cent, jumping from $29.12 billion in 2023-24 to $38.58 billion in the last fiscal year.

It was $23.6 billion in 2022-23 and $15.7 billion in 2021-22. Within this, computer hardware and peripherals, which form 3.8 per cent of the sector, saw 101 per cent growth, doubling from $0.7 billion to $1.4 billion. The main destinations for electronic goods were the UAE, the US, the Netherlands, the UK, and Italy. Engineering goods' shipments rose 6.74 per cent year-on-year to $116.67 billion. Drugs and pharmaceuticals exports grew 9.4 per cent to $30.47 billion while that of agri and allied sectors increased 7.36 per cent to $51.86 billion in 2024-25. The main export destinations for engineering goods were the US, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and Germany. From 2014-15 to 2020-21, exports in this segment hovered in the range of $73-83 billion. In 2021-22, they jumped to $112.2 billion and have remained above $100 billion since. According to the latest data, India drugs and pharmaceuticals are reaching over 200 countries now and since 2014-15, the exports are rising continuously. In the agri sector, key commodities that recorded healthy growth rates include spices, coffee, tea, tobacco, rice, fruits and vegetables, and marine products.

Spice shipments rose marginally to $4.45 billion in 2024-25 from $4.25 billion in 2023-24. Key export destinations included China, the US, the UAE, Bangladesh, and Thailand, with products like chilli, cumin, turmeric, and ginger leading the basket. On the other hand, India's coffee exports rose to $1.81 billion from $1.29 billion in 2023-24.